Sheriff Deeks
by Hoosier65
Summary: This is an AU about what might have happened. Deeks proposes to Kensi and we go from there. M mostly for language. I own none of the characters here. Some are under contract to a TV network, the rest my own imagination. Very few brain cells were destroyed in the writing of this story
1. Chapter 1

**Ok, this is just for fun. I have written the majority of it but need to proof future chapters if you want to read it. In a way, it's really different but that comes later.**

The County Sheriff was setting at his desk with his feet up on the corner dreading the phone call that he had to make. Thoughts mainlined thru his brain at the speed of light, bringing back what he had tried so hard to forget and finally after a year had come to grips with. Until today.

 _"Monty and I talked about it and we want you to go to Mammoth with us"_

 _"I want to be bold with you Deeks"_

 _"All in?"_

 _Today, tomorrow"_

 _"No Marty I can't marry you. It's too soon. I'm not sure we were meant to be 'us'- -I just need some more time to figure it all out, to be sure we belong together forever, that uh, well that nothing else might come up that could be a problem. We've only been together for 9 months"_

 _"Wow, does that mean you're on the lookout for someone better? Well good luck" and Deeks left. The one reason he couldn't and wouldn't stay and fight for her was what she just said in so many words, what if someone else- - -. Maybe she's just scared but we're past non-communication. All she had to do was say, I want to get there but it's too soon and he would have understood._

He had gone home gotten drunk and passed out. He didn't go into work the next day. The senior agents quizzed Kensi on his absence and got a glare thru red eyes but no response. Deeks, after waking up had loaded Monty, clothes and a couple other things into his truck then did the same at Kensi's. He left the key in the middle of the kitchen table and just drove-for 3 days. Till he ended up here. Here was a sleepy little town in Northern Indiana by the name of Middlebury. Mostly rural farm people. Hardworking, honest as the day is long, open, caring and very religious. A big Amish influence in the area served to re-inforce the strong religious ties in the area. They had needed a County Sheriff and he needed a job. He'd been given a temporary appointment based on qualifications and then won the special election 3 months later with ease. The downside-or-maybe upside he sometimes thought was that the only water in the area was Lake Michigan and some fishing lakes. He had met NCIS agent Brody from the Great Lakes Office on a couple occasions but had convinced her to not blow his 'cover' by talking to LA. Past that he'd had no contact with NCIS anywhere nor did he want any, especially from OSP. Just the same he hadn't changed his phone number or his email. Now Brody was gone to New Orleans but now his worlds were officially gonna collide and he was nervous, scared, worried-actually petrified of the phone call he had to make if he wanted to continue to do his job.

It had been a year since he had thought about that fateful day and 1 ½ years prior when he had left LA with no word to anyone. He just disappeared one morning and never showed up at LAPD or NCIS. He had taken care of his resignations, mail, the apartment and the rented furnishings from the road or in the evenings, via computer or cell phone, along with retirement, insurance and the 100 other 'little things' that had to be handled when one just left someplace with no warning. At night he slept under the stars in some park, in the back of his truck. He always found a 'free Wi-Fi' hot spot. He and Monty would stretch out and deal with things plus email a few friends that had bothered to look for him. Monty missed Kensi and reminded him of it regularly.

. Now he had to make a phone call that would cause all hell to break loose around him and, just maybe, cause him to run again. Dialing a number he would never forget he waited for a response.

On the other end the recipient of the call looked at the caller id 'Middlebury, In. Sheriff' was what she saw. Picking up the receiver she answered "Lange" and then her world took a 100 mile an hour 180 and she screamed "Marty where the hell are you and where have you been? Are you ok?" This got the attention of the 3 agents in the bullpen who immediately gathered around her desk. Kensi was hanging back a little. She had lied to her friends, telling them Deeks had just left after she caught him cheating with Talia. She hadn't even admitted that he had proposed. That lie was in jeopardy at this moment and she was dreading it. "You're on speaker Sheriff." This caused the agents to look at each other with questioning faces. _Sheriff, where the hell is he, why is he a sheriff"_ went thru 3 minds at once

"Ms. Lange, basis NCIS bolo # 432321-A-LA-notify only. I am notifying you that I have found the body of seaman first Marcel Jones. His body was found this morning at the house of his aunt here in town. I have just finished going over the scene for evidence. I got notice of ID about 20 minutes ago. Past that I am clueless as to what you want him for. I have processed the entire scene and all relevant evidence is bagged, tagged and labeled, ready to turn over basis signing chain of evidence forms. How do you want me to proceed" and then there was silence.

"Are you sure the crime scene techs were thorough" was Hetty's response.

"Maam, I am sheriff, crime scene tech, deputy, occasional lawyer and D.A. as well as EMT and fire chief so yes I am sure. I have the training to do the job as you well know."

Sam then butted in and Deeks heard "Marty talk to us, what the hell caused you to bolt" in a very shaky voice. "Did you really cheat on Kensi?"

"So 18 months later and she hasn't fessed up so to speak? Wow, new meaning to bury the past. So I'm a cheater huh" and Deeks let out a loud snicker. Going on he offered "Since she's still in denial I'm not gonna blow her cover. It's up to her to tell the story. I don't have the time or courage to rehash that crap again. I just got the all clear from the shrink to 'go be normal' and now I'm gonna have to go back and relieve all the crap again. Did you find #1-huh Kens? How do you want me to proceed Ms. Lange?" Deeks was then silent waiting for a response.

"I realize this case starts and ends back here in LA but we need to figure out how it is tied to a seaman stationed at Great Lakes so I am sending 3 agents your way. Do you have a motel in town?"

 **Be sure and let me know what you think, you are the barometer of whether we go on. Fill in the box.**


	2. Chapter 2

**To the guest who thinks I hate Kensi-not a chance it's only a story. Besides, she doesn't really treat Deeks all that well a lot of the time. Part of the reason they are dysfunctional and to all the guest reviews, thank you for taking the time. Hope you keep with it. Also to the guest who thinks there is no way they wouldn't try to contact him-read closely. She never told them about the proposal but that she CAUGHT him cheating with Talia. Why would they not believe her and if so then why would they contact him? Sorry to take space here but we can't respond directly to guests and most of the time they are negative.**

"Town's not big enough for a hotel or motel but we got a regionally known B & B-Mama D's. I'll make sure you get the 3 downstairs rooms with their own baths. Wouldn't want 'special agents' to have to rough it and share now would we?" The sarcasm literally dripped off his last words. By now the 2 men as well as Hetty were staring at Kensi with the same _what the hell did you do_ look on their face. Then they all heard the sheriff say "do you really need to send all 3 agents my way, how about maybe just Sam to verify everything and transport the evidence back to LA?" After a long silence during which he assumed Hetty was either staring at her agents or had her head back and eyes closed as she pinched the bridge of her nose (he half expected an _oh bugger)_ from her he heard the response he truly expected.

"Make the reservations open ended beginning tonight-for 3-separate rooms please sheriff and very late check-in. They will be on a G-5 to the nearest private strip in an hour. Will you be in your office tomorrow?" Hetty became silent waiting for an answer.

"I am either here or on call 24/7, 365 Ms. Lange. If the office is closed ask anyone where I am and they'll get hold of me or flag down my deputy as he'll be on patrol and he knows where I am at all times. Anything else?" There was silence on the line. All of them except Kensi (but including Granger and the Wonder Twins, all of whom had heard Hetty's scream and came running) were thinking the same thing- - _wow, he is supremely pissed. What the hell happened? He wouldn't be this upset with her if HE cheated would he? What did she do? Why doesn't he want to talk to anyone else?_

Hetty picked up the receiver, taking it off speaker and asked "Marty, will you please talk to just me for a few minutes?" After a long pause while Marty was talking, she said "Ok, I will." Looking at everyone standing around her desk, starring at her, she said "everyone back to work. Clear out of my office- -NOW- -and clear the bullpen and no listening in Eric or Nell or especially you Owen. The rest of you go clean your weapons!" It was not a question, it was not a statement or an order, it was a demand and everyone knew it as they scattered.

After a couple minutes Hetty almost begged "they are gone, now please my boy, please tell me what happened."

After what seemed like forever she finally heard "Aaah, well what the hell- -ok. But don't say anything, just listen. This is not easy so be patient. It took me a year to quit having nightmares but this case will shoot that all to hell. Above all I don't want pity or some kind of supposed concern." He then told her everything and followed that by playing a recording he had made at the time thinking it would be great to have in 20 years. To this day he didn't have the heart or courage to delete it. After it was over he went on "I could have stayed and fought for her for any other reason, fear of me leaving, one of us being killed, or the ghost of Jack even. I could have put up with her need to dominate, to lead, to drive, even her 'jokes' that always seemed to cut deep. I could have lived with any/all of that but I can't stay after being told I'm #2. That I can't fight and I decided I couldn't hang around and watch her look for #1 and still have her back or stay at NCIS with Nell or another partner after that kind of rejection. I just hope to hell she hasn't crawled back inside those walls and sealed it up. I actually thought about joining NCIS before and after she said no, but it seemed a worthless gesture at that point. There you have it."

Hetty sat there stunned. Never would she believe Kensi would have said that to him. It was clear to her that she did, indeed, call him #2- -albeit in her own words. Shaking her head she offered, in a very raspy voice "I am so sorry Marty. Never would I have believed her capable of hurting you like that." You should be aware that Sam and G as well as the rest of us think you cheated on her and she caught you in bed with Talia. I tried not to believe it but had no way to change anyone's mind after what she told them. She has hardly looked at me, let alone spoken to me all this time. Be prepared to face them and know you have my support. But what about the rest of us?"

"Really you actually asked that? How about this-NO ONE THERE tried to find me, not even you and you just admitted to not believing her. My phone and email haven't changed so a text would work. And with all your fancy electronics the Wonder Twins would have run me down in 30 seconds so shame on you NOT ME. Now Hetty, if they are coming out here, these are my ground rules that they WILL abide by or I'll send em out on their own. They are to call me Sheriff or Marty-no Shaggy or any of that other crap. They are in my county. I'm the law in this county. I expect them to respect the office, if not me and know that I call the shots no matter what they may think of me. Do not go off without checking with me. The people around here are a little wary of strangers, especially the Amish. Took me 6 months to get accepted by them and then only because I damn near killed myself. I always figured Kensi has poisoned everyone there since none of you tried to find me. I'm not exactly hiding out here and I frickin' knew it wasn't possible she would own up to it." Hetty just put her head in her hand.

As soon as she hung up, 3 agents and the wonder twins were back at her desk. Hetty sat there glaring at Kensi until she hung her head thinking _she knows or suspects_. This didn't go unnoticed by anyone but especially Sam. Hetty then began "a G-5 is fueled and waiting. Wheels up in 60. You are staying at Mama D's B  & B. According to Sheriff Deeks, it's the best they have. You will get the 3 lower rooms with private baths. He assured me of that. His last comments were his 'ground rules' if you will. Respect the office he holds if not him and realize he is the law there. He calls the shots or you get no help from him. You call him Sheriff or Marty, no Deeks or Shaggy or any of your other cute little terms of endearment. You are in his county so it's his terms AND I happen to agree with these rules. The Amish especially will be slow to trust. He said it took him 6 months, course it took you all 4 years to accept him so they seem to open up quickly compared to the 3 of you. Final rule is mine-you will not challenge him on what happened or what you think he did. He feels Kensi has told you her version and hers only. I have heard a tape of the full conversation and it would appear there is a substantial difference in understanding and interpretation of what happened. Any discussion of said issue to be started by him and him alone. Understood-NO OPTIONS."

"He taped it" Kensi asked meekly.

"Yes, he thought it would be good to have to play to your kids someday" Hetty responded.

Kensi turned and as she started towards her desk Hetty heard a mumbled "oh crap, I am SO screwed."


	3. Chapter 3

**Ok, need to hear from ya, after this chapter. How we doin. To the guests in French-only 1 out of 4 are translating so they are lost on me.**

Kensi had noticed everyone was staring at her when she left. She looked down after she mumbled something and went to her desk Hetty being the only one to hear it. Grabbing her stuff she headed to her car to make sure she had all she would need-go bag, weapons, etc. and headed to the airport. Once there she sat in a single seat so no one could get closer than across the aisle from her. She slapped her MP-5 and head phones on to insure privacy while her mind was going a mile a minute in 10 different directions.

Sam and G sat towards the back and were having a "quiet conversation" with Sam saying "man she must have hit him hard. As good an agent as she is she also has to lead almost to the point of dominating. She pushed him around pretty good even after they got together. I'm beginning to wonder what the truth is here G."

"Yea but by the same token we treated him pretty lousy until Siderov and even after that we never really gave the guy his due. I have seen a huge difference in our moral and operational level since he left. I agree though, there is a lot more to this" and G put his head back to sleep his daily 30 minutes.

It was midnight local time when they arrived at Mama D's. "Welcome to my B & B, you must be Marty's friends from Los Angeles. All is set up and ready. Breakfast is from 6 to 9, buffet style. I can whip you up something since it's so late and because you are his friends. Let's get you checked in while you decide and please call me Susie."

G stepped up and handed her an NCIS charge card saying "put them all on here. No use having 3 separate charges when all end up the same place." The lady smiled as she looked at the card. She then paused for a second.

She looked up with fire in her eyes saying "You're with NCIS? He didn't tell me that, just to give you the lower rooms. (implying she wouldn't have done it had she known) That would make you agent Hanna, agent Callen and you must be her." Her cheerful mood had just changed. "Your rooms are ready. I'm sure you will find all to your satisfaction." Have you decided about a little something to eat? Agent Hanna, I have put in an extra supply of fresh fruit including strawberries, blueberries and red raspberries from the area. I understand you do watch what you eat. He also said you were the closest thing to a friend he had there."

They were all taken back at the phrase 'closest thing' then Sam spoke up saying "we would like a little something to eat Maam and thank you. I'd settle for a fruit plate. You can fry up some bacon for him and a couple packs of Twinkies will do for Kensi."

"You can call me Mama D, G you best stick to Maam and you (looking at Kensi) can stick to being quiet but if you must speak to me, Mrs. Deeks would be acceptable." The glare she was giving Kensi would scare Superman.

After recoiling at the shock of 'Mrs. Deeks' Sam added "Maam would you join us and please tell us about your son. We never really got much of his background. Just some pieces. Anything Kensi knows she hasn't shared and probably won't but I, for one, would like to know more. And HE IS more than a friend in my book, he saved my family. I will owe him forever, I just never really said or proved that to him and that's on me. I fear there is a lot of confusion here."

Susie looked up and smiled a little. "He said you were a smooth talker and the only one I could take at his word so ok. I'll have a coke and tell you about my baby boy." After everyone had their "food" in front of them along with water or hot chocolate Susie started "I will assume he hasn't told you anything important so I will hit all the hi or more appropriately the lo-lites. Somehow Marty was always a happy boy. He had a sparkle in those eyes no matter what he went thru at the hands of that ass-hole father of his. That is until he came here. I haven't yet seen it come back and I'm pretty sure that she's the reason for that. He won't say what happened past 'it didn't work out' and I don't push him. Anyway, his dad, Gordon John Brandel lost his job and became a mean drunk. He took it out on me and then Marty. From 8 years old till 11 Marty never wore a short sleeve shirt and went to the emergency room with me at least 20 times. Both arms, all his fingers and one leg broken along with 4 ribs on 3 occasions. I can't even begin to count the bruises, black eyes and sprains. Finally, one night Gordon broke and came at me with a shotgun. Marty stepped in front screaming at his dad and just before Gordon shot him Marty put 2 rounds from Ray's 38 in Gordon's shoulder. The shotgun blast hit me in the leg but wasn't serious. I couldn't deal with things for years so Marty went into the system and suffered more abuse. The last thing I told him was to remember he was a good person, to never forget the light at the end of the tunnel and to use humor to hide the pain and deal with the bad stuff. Someday I'll find you if I can get better and then I walked out on my own son. That's how Marty has approached life. Instead of going bad or curling up in a ball, he became a lawyer, cop and finally worked with you. At each level he excelled-his superiors said so with medals and certificates and pats on the back but the people he worked with thought he was a joke because of the way he dealt with hurt and pain. Then he met a partner he consider the best he had ever worked with. Egotistical, demanding, needed to be in control of all things at all times including him AND she abused him. He couldn't bring himself to tell her how often he wanted to run out of the room screaming after she punched him. She was his dad. The crowning moment was when she accused him of not doing his job and punched him in his rebuilt jaw and then 6 hours later yelled at him for doing what he didn't do earlier. But he hung in there as in his words she was his one and done and worth all the effort. Now he says no mas, end of the line, gonna be a hermit now. That's how bad he's hurting to this day. I haven't seen that twinkle in his eye since he came to town. I had to walk away to save us both but SHE (cue the dripping sarcasm, glaring at Kensi) told him something that cut his heart out. That's the life story of my boy and I'm telling all 3 of you if you hurt him or screw him over you will deal with me and that could get ugly. He and I have made peace after many hours of talking, yelling, crying and hugging. If that is not your intent then leave now." She then leaned back and crossed her arms. The agents all thought _Hetty's gorgon stare has nothing on this woman._

 **So we meet mom and she is not happy! Keep those cards and letters comin! The plot minions need em to keep going!**


	4. Chapter 4

**To the French guest-thanks for the effort, you did great I understood every word. Thank you. Now the 3 agents and Sheriff have their meeting-oh boy!**

"Maam, I swear to you we won't intentionally hurt him. We may have never shown it but he is important to us. We know that now, but that's on us. As for 'her', I can't speak to how she feels but we will make sure no sparks fly. We will do our job and leave. Isn't that right Agent Blye?" Kensi just turned red and looked at her hands. Sam then went on "thank you for sharing all this and we are truly sorry to put you out like this. You didn't have to stay up this late to feed us. I'm bettin' you gotta' get moving early also."

"Hard work and I aren't strangers. Marty got my work ethic from me, that's how he put himself thru college and law school. As many as 4 jobs at one time. When he got notice he passed the bar on his first try with one of the 10 highest scores all-time he simply went to sleep and slept for 4 days. Only got up to pee. Now I'm going to bed. Your rooms are down the hall, first 2 on the left, first one on the right. Thank you for staying at my B & B." Then she got up and walked out. "Wow" was all G could say. Sam just shook his head and Kensi turned and walked away. Marty Deeks mom had just ripped em all a new ass and did it with a smile on her face.

The next morning (Saturday) after a great breakfast-western omelets from heaven for Kensi and G plus lots of bacon, fruit and 2 poached eggs for Sam and large amounts of some of the best coffee they ever had for all 3. Later the 3 agents piled in a car and headed to the Sheriff's office. G offered "how about 1 trip around the town to get a feel for it." After agreement he started taking random turns and following different streets. They noticed ample hitching posts for the Amish buggies as well as many people out and about. Several even waving at them just because they felt it the right thing to do. The 3 agents marveled at how clean, friendly and relaxed the town appeared. Then the Amish started coming into town. It was the first Saturday of the month and they had shopping and other errands. As they drove around, the area became crowded but no one had a problem with the delays caused by the buggies. None of them had ever seen or met any Amish and mentioned they needed to find out about them from someone, hopefully Deeks. As they parked and began to enter the sheriff's office 2 boys looking to be about 13 or 14 walked out one called back saying "Thanks Mr. D. We will make sure we take care of that right now. We'll grab out stuff and head on over there. And thanks again for everything."

"Just remember, next time you spend the weekend in cells in back. And I will check on that lot later so it better be clean as a whistle, mowed and trimmed. Be good you 2 and good luck to the JV team this fall." It was Marty talking and the 3 looked at each other.

"Stopping the boys, Kensi asked "what did you guys do?"

"We screwed up. Sheriff has cut us some slack on account a who we are but this time we took advantage of that. We harassed the Amish at their outdoor service and spread trash on the church lawn. The sheriff is making us clean it up and then mow and trim the yard for the summer. If we do that he'll lose the charges against us. And he won't tell our parents but if we don't then we spend a weekend in jail. Our parents have till Tuesday to come in and talk to him." Both boys had the look of someone who had dodged the bullet as they headed for home.

Sam smiled, chuckled and said "Sheriff Taylor lives!" Referring to the old Andy Griffith show.

As they entered the outer lobby, they all noticed how neat it was and the fact that there were computers, a fax, ham radio, and a lot of other gear some of which they had never seen in a sheriff's office including a saddle and bridle and a collection of hunting rifles. There was also one sniper rifle under lock and key. Sam yelled out "hey Sheeerrif. You got some visitors." Drawing out the word sheriff.

After a second they heard "my office straight ahead." As they walked in they heard "yea, great, thanks for the support. (pause) Really the Governor said THAT? Wow, thanks again and you will be the first call if I have problems. Take care Jim. See you at the annual get together but you go to first and I play 3rd this year." Then spinning to face them he said "sorry, Chief of the Indiana State Police needed updating on this. Concerned they should bring in the FBI or homeland based on the bolo you sent out. Since it had vague hints at terrorism. So what do you need to know before we head out? I assume you want to see the crime scene? Oh and can I assume you 3 are the ones I'm getting calls about? Suspicious vehicle cruising around town with 3 strangers-2 men and a woman-1 of the men black?"

G said "yea that's us. Some nice neighborhood watch you got here. Great to see ya Marty. How you been?" When all he got was a stare, they realized this was business only, no beers at the bar so to speak after hours. "Ok, walk us thru what you have, what you know and what you suppose then we'll go for questions basis that."

"Ok all the evidence is bagged, tagged and the chain of evidence forms are all over there" pointing to a conference table in his rather large office. He handed each of them a folder. "That is the complete report and copies of all the crime scene photo's I took. Everything I know, think and guess is in there. Go thru it and then we'll talk. Sit around the table and talk. I got a couple calls to make but I'll be here if you see something you want to question immediately." With that he motioned to the conference table. There was water and a pot of coffee and 2 bags of Twinkies on top of the table."

Sam noticed the 16 point buck on the wall over the sheriff's desk and asked about it. "Got him with a bow about 4 months ago, right near the end of dear season. Buddy of mine has been teaching me to shoot a bow and after murdering 4 or 5 trees that day, got that bad boy." Then he grabbed the phone and dialed. "Sharon, it's the sheriff. (pause) Yea I'm fine. Great be lookin' forward to it. I appreciate it. Can I talk to Steve? Ok, I'll hang. (pause) Steve? Yea, the boys have no idea you called and turned em in. Set it up the way we talked. They have till Tuesday to tell you and you tell me, good enough. (pause) Great. Thanks, no problem they're good kids, just need to remind em where the line is now and then. See you Sunday."

 **Still curious if this is going where you want and if you like it! Just a little look at life in the rural city of Middlebury**


	5. Chapter 5

**Ok, needing some feedback here. Reviews slowing down. How we doing? Let us know.**

The agents were staring at him when he said "Oh, those 2 kids you saw- it was their dad's that busted em. Not telling em that. Nice thing about folks around here. Good people. No hidden agendas. Their word is their bond. Kinda renewed my faith in the human race since I don't' have to worry about getting it in the back." That last was said while glaring at Kensi who hung her head to avoid his eyes.

Shortly after that G offered "ok we've digested most stuff-great job by the way. Better than most local LEO's stuff I have seen."

"Wow high praise. So does that mean for a local cop I did more and better that you expected? Anyway, fill in the holes on this thing. What's this guy's importance to NCISLA Spec. Op's that you would come all the way out here?"

Sam responded "come on Deeks, you know the drill. Need to know so put a sock in it."

Deeks eyes flashed fire and he started to stand up. Immediately all 3 knew that Sam had screwed up. "FYI, my security clearance is intact, even up a notch as I am wired into Homeland Security due to location, my background and the importance of Great Lakes in the scheme of things. You know the way I work and the quality of my work so if you came all this way to be assholes, hit the door." Then shaking his head and chuckling he went on "but to keep the peace we'll play it your way. Yes sir. Sorry I stepped out of bounds sir. What questions do you have for this county Mountie and local Leo sir?"

Sam took a step towards him growling "don't mock me Deeks I'll beat you down."

Instantly Deeks stood and glared at Sam saying "back off now or go home. I've done everything you really need so you can leave my jurisdiction any time you want and take the attitude with you.

Then G stepped up saying "relax Sheriff, this isn't easy on us either. We have to get used to the new you and your rules. Now my only question right now, because this report is thorough, is why he was staying at his aunt's house here. He had relatives a lot closer to Great Lakes than here. And to help you fill in the blanks it has to do with weapons missing at Pendleton and connections to a drug cartel. We honestly aren't real sure how they all tie in at this point."

"Good question agent Callen, been chewing on that one since I id'd him and tied him to the bolo. Best I can figure is he crossed someone or screwed up and came here to hide figuring they didn't know about his aunt. Given the crime scene location and condition, it was a clean, concise hit. No muss, no fuss."

Kensi then finally spoke "sounds like the work of the triple deuces. That's the gang out of East LA that's somehow in the middle of this. They have become a big deal in the last 18 months."

Deeks rubbed the back of his head and offered "wow, they were a 3rd rate group back in the day. Someone has to be playing sugar daddy for em to get into this kinda stuff. You got any leads in that area? Pretty basic first step."

The agents looked at each other and G swallowed before almost whispering "a, er-honestly we never thought of that. We just assumed they were big players in all this." Pulling out his phone he called Eric and filled him in and asked him to start digging, beginning with whatever LAPD had on em.

Kensi mumbled "well, a, maybe, possibly Deeks, er-a he, a Sheriff Deeks mentioned them to me at some point.

Glaring at Kensi G barked "Ok, let's head to the crime scene. Deeks-sorry Sheriff can you fit us all in your car or do we need towocars?"

"Let's take 2. Mine's a 4 wheel drive. Seats 6 but with my gear only 4. Being chief cook, bottle washer and ass scratcher around here means I carry a lot of stuff. Ok, you follow me. I have to go by a couple houses. We got some families on vacation and I check to make sure they haven't had a break in. Only take a couple minutes each." 1 hour and 2 stops later they were walking up to a house that had the crime tape up and the front door sealed. They had watched Deeks conduct a thorough search of the properties vacated by families on vacation. They all found his attention to detail impressive. Their little brother had grown up the 2 men realized and grinned at each other. Kensi was just staring into space. Deeks carried a new seal with him and sliced the old one so they could enter the crime scene. Motioning to the living room "I found him here. Best guess, he was tied to this chair and beaten. When he didn't talk they put one in the back of the head, untied him and put him on the floor. Blood spatter pattern and location isn't consistent with where the body is (as he pointed to the outline on the floor). Past that no sign of breaking in so either he let em in or they picked the lock. Couldn't see any signs so if they picked it they are pros. That would eliminate most gang bangers so my monies on him lettin' them in." He continued walking them thru everything he had found and surmised for another 15 minutes then said "that's it inside. Outside we found nothing and the canvass of the neighborhood turned up an 09 green Dodge 4 by. Got a bolo out but a boat load of them in the area. Hopefully the color narrows it down as does the make. Whoever was driving headed north out a here. Probably headed to the South Bend area where he could pick up the toll road or interstate out of Indiana and go east or west. We've notified toll road authorities and asked for camera data at the entrances between South Bend and Gary going east and Fort Wayne to the west. Also notified the appropriate Illinois and Ohio agencies regarding what we suspect. That's all I got so hit me with questions or let's head back."

Sam said "looks and sounds like you covered every base possible. Only thing I would like is to do our own canvass to see if we can turn up anything and maybe catch the 2 you said weren't home. It's about the same time as the shooting so anyone on a daily routine will be around. That ok? You can go and we'll find our way back. If we have questions we'll find you. I assume you will be at the office."

"First, you might want ta leave her in the car. People will take one look at her and clam up faster than Hillary Clinton at a Congressional Hearing with the attitude and look she is showing. And yes I will be here till about 7 then mom and I have a standing Saturday dinner. I take her out and the staff takes care of the B & B. She works her butt off and I am trying to slow her down a little." At that point he gave them a hand held radio. You can find me on channel 20 any time day or night. Give me a shout and I'll tell you where I'm at. As for your canvass, if anyone balks tell em Sheriff D said to cooperate. That should do it. If you run into any Amish, tell em 'Esther's friend' said it's ok." With that he headed out leaving the agents to whatever they wanted. "Esther" mouthed G with a questioning look on his face and he and Sam looked at Kensi who again, put her head down and turned away. Sam and G were thinking the same thing _we gotta hear that tape_ while Kensi thought _I can't let them hear that tape._

 **So now, litter the airwaves with reviews, good and bad!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I DELETED CHAPTER 6, IT SOMEHOW GOT CHOPPED UP AND A PARAGRAPH AND SEVERAL SENTENCES DELETED. NEW ONE UP TODAY AS 6-R AND HOPEFULLY 7. SORRY, I KNOW IT HAD TO HAVE BEEN A LITTLE TOUGH TO FOLLOW. MUST HAVE FORGOTTEN TO SAVE LAST SET OF CHANGES-ONLY GOOD THING ABOUT BEING FORGETFUL/SENILE IS YOU MEET NEW FRIENDS EVERYDAY!**


	7. Chapter 6-R

**Ok here is what chapter 6 was supposed to be. Thanks for the reviews and the couple people that caught the errors. I have posted the missing stuff in bold so you can see the difference it makes. Hope to get # 7 up later.**

 **After the agents left Deeks changed his mind and decided to go see the one person who knew what was happening all around the rural area. Josiah was the Deacon for the Amish church and they had a service in ½ hour. He could do that, make his rounds and still be at his moms.**

 **He pulled up at Josiah's and was met by the man. After explaining what was going on and giving him the partial plate and description of the truck Josiah asked** "Is this the same gut feel that led you to where our children were that night?" Getting a nod from the sheriff Josiah went on "then consider it done. Our service starts in 3 minutes it will be the first thing I tell them and if anyone has anything I will tell them to step out and call immediately."

"That would violate the rules Josiah, I can't ask you to do that. Call as soon as you can."

"No, time might be critical. You didn't wait for the right time to save our children, this is the least **we** can do **in return**."

"Thank you, **and no matter what** I will be there next Saturday at LeRoy's to help with the barn. How is he doing?"

"He is struggling but faith and community will get him thru, as will the prayers I know you are offering for him. Now go save people Sheriff" and he hugged Deeks and turned to go talk to his congregation.

Deeks **left and** drove around several backroads searching and on a few occasions he drove up into a driveway and shined his spotlight looking for a sign, a car, anything. These **were the** houses where the owners **were** out of town. They notify **the sheriff who then** drive **s** by now and then on patrol or just on a whim to be sure all is ok.

 **Meanwhile, in the car with the other 3 agents** Sam just shook his head thinking _he is supremely pissed at all of us and we keep doing/saying the wrong thing. He's a whole different person here and we keep trying to fit him into his old mold. I gotta stop this. It's wrong. But how do I approach it? Shit!_ And Sam sat back and kept his mouth shut **till they all** got **back** to the B & B.

Susie Deeks was waiting for **them** and announced "I have some food ready for you. I hoped Marty might stop also. He normally sticks his head in on his late patrol and we walk and talk a little before he heads back out. **Then later we go out for a late dinner.** I can fix decaf or I can brew some tea. Which would you like?" **G and Kensi decided to eat in town but Sam wanted some more time with Susie. He was going to try and find out more about things and he was the only one she seemed half way open to talking to.**

"Just some tea and a sandwich is fine. But maybe a little company. I need to find a way to reconnect with your son. I owe him but I just keep screwing up and I'm not sure why." Sam just looked at her and she swore she saw damp eyes.

"Ok but I don't know how I can help you." They went to the kitchen and Sam took a chair. Shortly Susie sat a cup of tea and a sandwich in front of him and sat down. Then she began "We had a chance to visit yesterday while you were out and all I can tell you is that from **that and** past conversations he talked about you 3 plus the others back in LA as family but the family let him down after what she did. Something about lack of support and that no one even tried to find him. He said he was never off the grid whatever that means. He also said that since you've been here you've treated him badly and he has no clue why. He thought you understood what SHE did (still dripping venom Sam thought) and might cut him some slack but you keep him at arm's length. I think he would really like to set down and talk with you and agent Callen but is actually scared of how you may react to anything he might say, ask or do. Does that make sense? Bottom line is that he felt, especially you would side with him as he commented that 'he had thought he earned your trust and never gave you reason to believe he would ever hurt Kensi. Does that also fall into place?"

"More than you know. Do you know what he did for my family and what happened between him and Kensi?" Getting a nod he went on "well she told us he just disappeared. No word, no phone call, no text- -nothing so we thought he had bailed on the woman we know he still loves and we're pretty sure she feels the same. "Maybe it's the comments about our little town here. We aren't LA but we are good people and he is proud to be the sheriff and these people have come to be his friends and family. It took 6 months to finally win over the Amish but he did it. Around here once you are a friend, you are one for life. Here they value truth, honesty, loyalty and strong morals. If you have all that you are golden and they will move mountains for you and never desert you. He may have finally found that home. Lotta folks here abouts know what happened out there and probably won't be real keen on helpin ya unless Marty asks. And for the record, why didn't you say something to him about what she did since you heard that tape. He is really at a loss thinking for sure you would get it after hearing that tape."

 **(this is the other major missing few paragraphs)**

 **Sam looked at her and asked "what tape, what the hell are you talking about? No one has said anything about a tape."**

 **Susie was obviously surprised but eventually offered "He and I assumed you heard it. He played it for that woman-Harriett-no Hetty. He had taped the proposal thinking their kids would love to hear it at some time."**

 **Sam just sat dumbfounded finally mumbling "thank you. We have not heard any tape. Now if you'll excuse me I gotta take care of some things" and he got up and quickly left pulling his cell phone out.**

" **Hetty, what the hell-I don't give a damn what time it is I want that tape sent to G and I this minute. Deeks will hardly be civil to us and we don't know why so we gotta have it-yea ok" and he hung up on her. 3 minutes later it came thru. He call G and explained everything then settled in to listen, only to have a whole other reason to be really P.O.'d.**

 **There it is hope it makes more sense now. Let me hear it and again I apologize for the screw up.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Ok, the troops know what happened now and it starts in ernest**

After playing it for her G just glared daggers at Kensi who did nothing but hang her head. He did see a tear trickle down and fall before snarling "really-Kens-I mean-a-WOW-really. You said that to HIM. What in the hell is wrong with you. Why-you knew you were driving a stake thru his heart yet you really said that meaning you didn't care! That man would take a bullet rather than hurt you but you seem to have always found ways to make him hurt. It's time Sam and I took his side for a change. Our goal was to stay out of partner affairs but we watched while you did some things to him that caused us long conversations in the car wondering how and why he put up with it. We figured out how he felt about you long before you did because you were too busy being bad ass-tougher than nails-need no one Blye. But this is one thing I'm not sure I can ever forgive you for-he's # 2 and your hoping something better comes along? You didn't just cross the line, you sprinted about 10 miles past it. WOW, just Wow. Why not just say no and see where it goes, give things a chance to sort themselves out and give the man his dignity-now you've lost a partner that you trusted totally, your best friend and a man that I now feel might just have been too damn good for you anyway. First time I ever wanted to hit someone who wasn't an enemy." As she opened her mouth he growled back "don't you dare even try. No-I will not listen now-maybe ever. I'm gonna walk back while, trying to calm myself down. You will pay the bill, drive back and then meet with Sam and me. I am SURE he has some things to say also. Then he was out the door. After setting there staring at nothing for a while, finally settling the bill and getting up to leave.

Meanwhile back at the B & B Sam went to find Susie. When he did, he said "Maam, we really need to talk. I just heard the tape. G just listened to it also and about now is ripping Kensi a new one which I will also do when they get back. There can be no excuse for what she did. That man deserved a hell of a lot better. If she says no and lets it go at that then ok but to talk about waiting for Mr. Righter-unforgivable and she is gonna hear it from me big time. That I promise." Sam was so mad he had to take deep breaths to keep from stuttering. Then he went on "you have to believe that G and I hadn't heard that tape till now. To say we are disappointed in her would be an understatement. She told us she caught him in bed with a DEA agent named Talia and we believed her. That was our bad. We never even tried to find out if there were 2 sides to the story. She needs to somehow make it right. We need him back. We are not a strong team without him. She has to find a way to work with him again and regain his trust enough to be partners again. I hope if G and I can focus on that we can get past how we feel about her as we have to rebuild trust across this whole thing to make it work. That seems an awfully big task but it is something that can't start without the 2 of them working it out somehow and that means getting him to sit down and listen to her, assuming she is willing to address this whole thing." At that point Sam just put his head down and shook it.

"Then set him the hell down and make him listen! How tough can that be for a Navy SEAL the size of a redwood tree?" She was both glaring at him and showing the same playful twinkle in her eyes they had seen so many times in Deeks. "Now go find those other 2 agents and go see him. If this team and he are that important then you should be able to make her understand that and then he will listen, I'm sure. What you don't know is I have seen it in his eyes when he doesn't think I'm watching-he still cares and he, for sure, misses all of you-even her. He loves it here but I know how badly he misses LA and the surf and the ocean. It was what gave him peace for so many years. His dad hated the ocean and couldn't swim so Marty would retreat there to keep from a beating. He still goes up to Lake Michigan and just stares out over the water." Then she smiled and went on saying "he might surprise you if she can be open and honest about wanting him back. But you don't even know that yet so nothing else will work without her making amends."

Sam just stared at her thinking again _wow she is some kinda lady. Remind me not to really tick off Marty. If he's anything like her it could be ugly. I see why he uses humor. Between his dad and her there is obviously some temper there and humor was his way to deal with it and to keep the anger from surfacing._ Finally he spoke saying "Thank you for your time. I see where Marty gets a lot of what makes him who he is now. You have every right to be proud of him." Susie smiled and nodded at him as Sam headed out to find G and Kensi and force her, maybe even at gun point if necessary to face the sheriff. As he pulled up by the restaurant and got out of the rental, he felt a prick on his neck. Reacting immediately and slapping at it a dart fell to the ground. _Oh Shit_ he thought before going down. A man and a woman wrestled him into the green Dodge and sped away, but not before Sam had gotten a punch in. Having the presence of mind to go for the nose of the woman, it caused a nose bleed. That would give Deeks something. He tried to scratch and claw but succumbed to the dart's contents soon after throwing the punch. Unnoticed to the kidnappers, the 2 boys Deeks had caught trashing the Amish service had been skateboarding in a parking lot and were walking quickly towards home when they saw what happened. Running into Deeks office they were yelling "sheriff, Sheriff Deeks they got your friend- -he's gone. They took him. Come quick." Deeks was beside them in a shot.

"Calm down and tell me what you saw, quickly."

"But you gotta get after em."

"Information is more important unless you know who it was and where they were going. Collect your wits and walk me thru what you saw and heard. Start with which him they took."

The 2 boys looked at each other and the younger one nodded for the older one to go on. After that they took him through everything, telling him everything they saw, they ended with a description of the 2 people. "It was the big black guy. Fought best he could. Punched the woman before passing out-like he was drugged or something. The man was tall, guessing about 6'2" basis the truck height, he was black. She was about 5'3' or so. Dark hair, ruddy complexion and spoke with like maybe a German or Russian accent." Deeks had taken this all in and stared at the kid who responded "what, I have a really good memory. I visualize it and I see it. That's why I get good grades." He ended by giving the first part of the same license plate that Deeks had gotten earlier.


	9. Chapter 9

**Thanks for lot of great comments-several guest comments I wish I could respond to but system won't allow. Hope you all stick with it to see where we end up. To the one guest wondering what's on the tape. Refer to first couple chapters-it was his proposal and her rejection, alluding to looking for someone better.**

Deeks still managed a smiled as he called in the APB. Since the truck was the same one he didn't have to put the alert out thru what he called tell-a-neighbor and tell-a-friend. This was something in place before he got here. Since this county population was so spread and rural, they had a calling system. Mostly for Amber Alerts but Deeks made 4 phone calls, each one of those made 10 and so on until everyone was contacted. The first calls went to the far ends of the county and they worked their way back in so if a car was trying to leave they hoped to get ahead of them (believe it or not folks, I grew up around this area, and this is the truth, course that was in the 50's but what the hell writers license-it was the original version of Amber Alerts so please no one call B.S. on this).

Shortly after that Deeks was back at his desk. After collecting the blood sample and getting it off to Great Lakes via his deputy who went with lights and sirens flashing and instructions to get there now, he had driven around half the county with no luck. Eric had nothing on any security camera and he was surprised there were so many available. Deeks was staring into space when his computer binged signifying an incoming message. It was a link. When he opened it he saw the 3 agents tied to a chair and 2 masked figures behind them. They matched the descriptions the boys had given him very closely. One of them spoke-the man-using LA gang kinda voice and dialect "who we are doesn't matter, what we want does. We want you here. You made our lives miserable and we will extract our revenge." Deeks had texted Eric to try and trace this as the masked face went on "because of you our fathers were killed and we were forced us to live as commoners instead of with the privileges we should have enjoyed. Now you will pay. You have 72 hours to find us and turn yourself in or we kill one a day until you show up. Do you understand? If you do as instructed we MAY let these 3 go-MOSTLY unharmed." And the recording ended and the screen went blank. It was obviously taped so there was a chance they had left a trail for Eric to follow but no chance to interact and ask for proof of life. If the agents were alive they were drugged as Deeks could not discern any movement.

Shortly a call came in from Nell "Deeks, they are bouncing that signal around from Alaska to Hawaii to Australia. It will take us a day to find the source and almost that to get any DNA from the blood sample. We got notice it just arrived at Great Lakes and then they called people in to start immediately. Oh and they told me to tell you that your deputy said he's staying over, it's too late and he's too tired to drive back." Deeks just smiled and nodded as he knew the man had family and a girlfriend in the area.

Since we have 72 hours we are good. I am hoping they leave our agents alone in the meantime." Then after a pause "Marty I gotta ask for Eric and I, how are you why and did you really leave? No way in hell you cheat on her. When she lies she twirls her hair like when she flirts. She's an easy read. You are missed even if those idiots won't say so, especially Kensi. I'm pretty sure she would take you back if you just offered."

After a minute he answered "ask Hetty to play the tape then you'll know just how really great I am these days. Oh and for the record, not up to her. It's my choice after what she did" and he cut the connection. Eric looked at Nell and they shared an ' _oh crap'_ moment.

Deeks spent the next day checking with people on the suspected route the truck had taken with no results. That evening he wandered over to his mom's B & B and "I need food and a friend mom." After they finished ham sandwiches, salad and tater tots he looked at his mom and said "I'm a mess mom, 2 friends and her missing and I got less than 72 hours to figure it out and I got no idea why except they were taken to get to me. They want me to come to them. This whole thing is aimed at getting a hold of me. Part of me says screw it and call in the feds and walk away but the other part says turn the county upside down and inside out looking for them. I could never live with being the reason they got hurt or killed-even her. Why in the hell is this happening. I've gone thru old cases in my head and no one comes to mind that would have it in for me and include all of us. Got several that might want me but that's from LAPD and I'm sure there's more than a few that want the 3 of them but no one looking for me that would know about them. I am stumped."

"You have to focus on 1 thing at a time. Saving lives take priority anytime. But then you need to sort out your feelings for them Marty, especially Kensi. I've seen how you look at her and talk about her. You may act mad but your eyes say different. As for the other 2 they got caught in the cross fire. So answer me this, do you still love her after all this time."

After what seemed an eternity of silence, Deeks responded "ya mom, I think I do but I'm not sure I want to tell her and try to make it work. I'm afraid of a repeat performance and I'm not even sure she would try to mend fences. I really don't need that kind of pain again. This whole mess has brought all of it back." After another pause he added "but you are right, saving them takes priority and that's what I have to focus on. It's what is expected of me. I'm just not thinkin' straight right now. All this going on, old feelings coming back-everything. I miss the ocean bad at times like this, it was always my hiding place."

"Martin Andrew Deeks you know how to read people better than that-put your emotions aside and you'll see. She is still in love with you, plain as day you big goofus. Now find a way to save em. Do what you do best. Then you can work on the rest. Oh and up until earlier this evening Sam and G hadn't heard that tape. They still thought you cheated on her so they were a little puzzled at how you treated them." She could see understanding dawn in his eyes. Now some of it made sense. He expected them to be on his side and mad at her but they had no reason to be nice to him.

Deeks had to get some sleep, he realized he'd been up well over 24 straight hours. He curled up on the couch in his office, a frequent resting place, especially early on in his career as sheriff. 8 fitful hours later he got up thru some water on his face, gargled and put on a clean shirt while his brain was going about 100 miles an hour trying to find a thread to tug on with a solid lead at the end of it. Frustrated, wondering about his relationship with the LA team and in general not feeling real good about things. He tried to get another hour or 2 of some semblance of sleep. Just about the time he finally dozed off, his phone started ringing. Tring to shake the cobwebs out he looked at the phone "blocked #" was all it said. He assumed it was the mission, probably the wonder twins in OPS. Still groggy he growled "Deeks, speak."

 **Now he can ease off G and Sam some but still a lot of issues to deal with but we gotta get the troops back first. Onward-as always donate something to the little black box.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Now we find out who, why maybe**

"Easy there detective or should I say sheriff? And for the record we have them and in 72 hours we start playing with them. Personally I'm thinking agent Blye getting her clothes slowly removed will be a truly amazing experience, let alone a sight to behold and to be thankful for. One that I am also so looking forward to. We will be in touch with what we want shortly."

Before they could hang up Deeks just barked "proof of life, all 3 or go to hell."

After what felt like an eternity Deeks heard Sam, then G then Kensi say, one after the other "got it covered man see ya when the sun rises" followed by G saying "keep your powder dry Shaggy" and Kensi, sounding close to tears saying "I miss our time at the beach especially down time."

"Good enough for ya sheriff? Now remember 72 hours. We'll be in touch and maybe even give you some hints" and then he heard an almost hysterical laugh. At the same time he heard a woman in the back ground "don't antagonize him you idiot. He is a very capable person. You heard what these 3 were talking about, he's pissed off enough." And the line went dead.

Deeks sat down and while rubbing his hand thru his hair, let out a deep breath and thought _ok, what did I learn. There's at least 2 of em. 1 male, 1 female. He sounds like an LA gang banger and she had a slight German accent. Sam can see the sun in the am but not now. They are facing east, G's gotta mean near water, so on a lake but don't approach lake side and Kensi was referring to the little cove we found that no one knew about but us. That's where we'd go when a serious discussion was needed. Peaceful, beautiful sunsets and just calm and quiet and where I proposed. It had cliffs on 3 sides so we were sure of privacy._ Going back to his office he started flipping thru topographical maps of the area within 1 hour drive time. Then focused on those with 1 or more inlets or cays or anything that could past for said item. When he was done, he had 11 possible locations but he had to have sleep. Since he still had plenty of time some sleep couldn't hurt. He just prayed the captors didn't decide to 'play' with the 3 agents, especially her. For some reason he got the feeling that the games wouldn't really start until he got there. Before he tried to get some sleep, he sent all the information, including his thoughts and suppositions to Eric and Nell but copied Hetty as she had asked to see everything for some reason. He ended by asking them for satellite help if possible, either close in photography or infra- red-anything that would allow him to eliminate locations based on lack of anyone being at a given location. Then he looked at the guitar and violin that were on stands on top of a credenza. When he first left LA he began playing both again and quickly regained his old skills. He now made sure he played each a couple times a week and even occasionally sang along, especially with the guitar. He felt his voice was good enough for the shower stall or a room full of drunks on karaoke night. As he laid on the couch, he strummed the guitar and hummed _Amazing Grace_ , the song his mom always asked for. It was the song that she held on to as she worked her way thru abused wives syndrome and as she healed. 8 hours later he woke up, guitar laying across his legs. The clock said 6 am. He went into the restroom off his office where he cleaned himself up, brushed his teeth etc. He then got a change of clothes out of the closet in the office. He opted for jeans and boots as he had a feeling he would be working his way thru woods and/or up and down hills, double checking that he moved his switchblade to the boot pouch he had sewn in by a friendly Amish tanner. When he walked out of the closet, still tucking his shirt in he did a double take and then let out a breath and said "what the heck are you doing here? And for the record I don't need to try and be nice to you anymore."

Granger chuckled as he responded "nice to see you too Deeks and for the record, I was the only one on your side in the office. I kept telling them you weren't dumb enough to mess up the best thing that ever happened to you. I dug a lot deeper into your background and childhood and realized what it took to get to where you are. You would never screw it up for a roll in the hay. Now we got work to do and I figured you could use someone you trusted that was capable of watching your 6. Pretty sure your deputy is a good guy but not trained for anything this big, right? So whadda ya say?"

Deeks gave him a quick smile and shook his hand then gave him a briefing on everything he knew and suspected. "So net-net we are waiting for some input from Nell and/or Eric before proceeding. We don't have the time to check every location. It's not even sure that they are at one of em, just my best guess."

Det-I men sheriff, your gut and hunches are better than 'for sure' from a lot of people. I'm with you whatever direction you choose to go. But for now, I understand and agree, we wait." They began to talk about a lot of things. Granger was currently sharing some of his time and experience with Don Blye and what Granger believed the gunny would expect of the man his little girl married. He ended by saying "he would be really happy she found you."

They continued the small talk when all of a sudden Susie walked in. "Martin, what are you doing here. Get out there and find those people."

Deeks had been really relaxed at his desk with his feet up and staring at the map again. At the sound of his mom's voice he jumped up and mumbled "a-e-well geez ma, give a guy a break. We are waiting on intel from satellite coverage of the area to narrow down the places we need to search. Oh and for the record, Susie Deeks this is Asst. Director of NCIS, Owen Granger, Owen my mom, Susie Deeks."

"You gonna say hi or just stare at me Mr. Asst. Director? Susie said with a chuckle and a twinkle in her eyes.

Grangers first thought was _now I see where Deeks gets that twinkle in his eye_ and then he said "I'm sorry, just that he never mentioned you."

"Ya, well he never really knew if I was alive or not till he showed up here one day. Talk about a shock when he walked in and asked for a room. That moment was priceless." And she had to chuckle as she remembered the look and the stuttering he went thru before he actually spoke a coherent sentence. "Anyway we've had a chance to get caught up with each other's lives. And for the record, I'm not really happy at the way he was treated by your people. He never gave you a reason not to trust or believe him, you just assumed a poor kid with abuse in his background couldn't be a decent person-we'll you were wrong at least twice cause we are both standing here today." Granger just stared. He wasn't expecting her to know everything and step up and deal with it, let alone tell him off. Then she went on "one of the things they taught us in therapy-stand up and be counted. Don't be a victim. If you know it's right or wrong say so and deal with it head on. Took me 10 years of therapy to learn what Marty did the hard way-growing up with no parents and having to figure out how to be a man and convince himself he had worth. He did that thru law enforcement as a lawyer, cop and part of your organization." Then she just looked at him, hands on hips.

Granger smiled raised his hands palms up and offered "no mas and for the record I am on his side but I see where he gets his drive and personality." Finally adding "nice to meet you also."

 **Ok, that went well! Now we gotta narrow down the potential sights and go get em! But it might not be that easy. My plot bunnies got into a batch of steroid laced carrots and I have some strange thoughts for the next few chapters. You still likin' this? Let's hear from ya!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Ok now Granger has met mom and maybe things start to take shape.**

Deeks let out a big breath as, much to his relief, Nell appeared on the screen as they now had a secure hook up direct to OPS. Looking at the 3 people in the room Nell said "a-er can I go ahead or- - -"

Granger jumped in saying "this is Deeks mom" and he was cut off.

"Assistant Director Granger" interjected Deeks, "the rules are for you too and you will refer to me as Sheriff Deeks, Marty or Sheriff but NOT Deeks, now proceed Nell."

Showing a huge grin (and hearing Eric choking in the background) she went on "a, ok, well we have flyovers by both photo-imagery and infrared satellites. I have loaded them side by side for each of the locations you gave us. I will send the file to you shortly so you can review it. We haven't made any progress trying to figure out who or why. We have gone over cases since you left and those while you were here with no luck. We just started running these places thru the system-checking ownership, that type of thing. But we're also running thru a lot of other data trying to find something. If you decide on 1 or 2 let us know and we'll get into those first otherwise we'll go thru from beginning to end till we find something."

"Nell, my gut tells me this is something else. Remember the Vakar case? I think you were there then. My gut is telling me this is kind of the reverse of that. They are after me and using the agents to draw me out. The dead sailor was the bait to capture them. Part of the reason for that is there was really nothing done or said until after they got Sam plus it makes no sense for the OSP to come to backwater USA for any reason. Finally, they could have as easily contacted me after grabbing G and her if it was about anything else. But they wanted all 3 of them. They wanted me isolated from the agents."

Nell reacted to the use of 'her' for Kensi and it in the back of her mind as in the background Eric mumbled "oh boy" and then Nell went on "that means we need to look at your cases with LAPD and see where they may link to other cases that tie to your time here at a later date or even in tandem, etc. That is a lot of data mining as I mentioned. We'll get started but if you find something let us know also, especially if you identify the location they are being held. The location leads to ownership which gives us a name to start digging into. This link will be left open, just hit alt-tab-4-5 to activate at your end and you will be on the big screen here in OPS. We will also get a text advising you are on if no one is here but the plan is to staff the center 24-7 for now. What oh yea, hang on Eric wants 5 minutes."

Eric came into view saying "hey bro. How goes it? You got anywhere to surf out there?" and he and Deeks went back and forth for a few minutes then Eric added "gotta go Marty. Come back and see us or at least me. You're still welcome in OPS and at my place anytime. We need some surf time bro. See ya soon I hope." And the screen went blank.

The sheriff sat at his desk running his fingers thru his hair. The wonder twins were the 2 people he truly missed (well maybe Hetty also-a little anyway, pun intended and he smiled to himself). Eric was his surfing bud and Nell had put up with him when Kensi was in Afghanistan and made things tolerable by understanding and supporting his feelings for his partner. Finally standing up he looked at Granger and his mom saying "Ok you 2 take that terminal, mom will probably recognize the lake and the area and Granger you know what to look for. We have to assume they are holding all 3 agents at the same place. You start at the end of the file and I will start at the beginning" and then they all went to work doing some 'data mining' of their own. 2 hours later, after all sets of eyes had looked at each file the Sheriff said "I've got 4 possible and 1 more iffy."

Granger said, "we figured 3 possible, period." They then compared notes. Granger and Susie's 3 were 3 of the 4 the sheriff had. They then discussed each of the 2 not agreed on and agreed that they would be checked only if the other 3 came up empty. Granger then asked what kind of a team the Sheriff could assemble up here to aid them? Best I can do would be a squad out of Great Lakes but no swat units are stationed there."

"Let me contact Jim Neff-he's the head of the Indiana State Police. They co-ordinate with the County Sheriff's very well. We stage together on regular training operations. They have 7 SWAT teams at various points around the state, 1 being in Elkhart so give me an hour and they are here. If not, we have HRT units stood up in several counties that we all can draw on. They are located such that they can be anywhere in the state in 20 minutes. They are fully trained in hostage rescue as well as SWAT tactics. Difference is State unit is full time SWAT, Sheriff's stand ups are regular deputies brought together to train monthly after the initial 3 weeks spin up. They are still solid and can be trusted to do the job right. I will line a team up first then we can verify which place we need to hit. Most of these are in the Northern area around North and South Twin Lakes. That's over by LaGrange and Sheriff Yoder has an HRT team based there. That would be better than the states SWAT unit as they will be familiar with the area. His Chief Deputy Sheri Mueller is the lead Deputy. Good deputy and almost as tough as Kensi.

"Better pair up" said Granger, then adding "I don't know the area and people may not react well to me without you around-or so I've heard" and he offered a huge grin.

"Can't imagine why" shot back Deeks "you make Don Rickles look and sound like Santa Clause. What's not to like." And Deeks had a grin from ear to ear. Felt good to be able to 'talk back' without fear of losing one's job.

They spent the next hour plotting their route at each house and how best to check em out. The toughest was saved for last. It set on a beach with a small (25') almost vertical cliff. Deeks had no problem rappelling but wasn't sure about the 'ole guy.' Granger eyed him and said "I'll beat ya to the bottom you smart ass kid" and actually gave the sheriff a huge grin and punch on the shoulder. Deeks just stared for a minute then grinned back and shook his head.

"Ok, let's see if we can get any help." Then Deeks called Nell up on the big screen. "Nell, do you have anything on the ownership of the 3 locations we want to check?" After giving her the info. she and Eric pounded a few keys and a face come up on the screen.

"Meet Mark Saunders. Does that ring a bell Shag- -er-a sheriff? I'm sorry, Sheriff he is the son of Lawrence Saunders. Does that one ring a bell?"

After a few seconds in thought Marty said "yea-the case with Ray, he was the arms dealer and Nell-you can call me Shaggy, it's the other assholes I want some respect from for a change."

 **Aha a clue, the game's afoot now let me hear from ya**


	12. Chapter 12

**To kensincis-ya never know what might happen! Thanks for the comments**

Giving him a cross between smile and smirk she went on "ok that's right but it gets better. He is currently hooked up with/married to Victoria Lazik. That one do anything for ya?"

Deeks froze. The tumblers lined up and he realized "I'm the target for sure. Lawrence is in jail forever and Lazik is dead basis my undercover op. Same one that got Jess killed, Nell, be sure you talk to Hetty to reach out to WitSec to tell em Ray may be compromised also. He would have reason to want Ray dead as well as me, maybe more. The others are the bait. Damn. 3000 miles away and I'm still the bad guy. They are gonna have my head on a platter for this one. Good work you 2. That one is on the outer limits of where we expected to find em and we would have gone there last. This saves ½ a day at least. That could make the difference. Now Granger and I have to decide how to proceed or do we wait for the next contact and risk their lives. They would probably file a complaint and end my career. Great options. Thanks again." And Deeks severed the connection. Turning to Granger he asked the question "any ideas on this one?"

After Granger digested the bitterness in a couple of Deeks comments his response then surprised the Sheriff "first of all if any of them cause you trouble I'll deal with em. You've already paid the price for being the good guy. But also, leave the attitude on the shelf now. This is strictly a rescue of 3 kidnapped citizens. You can go 3 rounds with em later. Right now I need Shaggy, not Sheriff B.A. Attitude. Understand? Now I think it's obvious how we go in. That cliff behind the house is the best way. They won't be expecting us from that direction, even if they are the only way at us is the roof and we can fast rap down. I know it's obvious but I don't think they will consider it plausible due to the sheerness plus the height. Also would bet this is just the two of em. Probably got hooked up on you thru the LA gangs, so this is just them. No fancy organization behind them.

Deeks nodded in agreement as he was thinking the same thing then he zoomed in on the photo looking at the area. The house was 1 1/2 stories on the Beach of North Twin Lake. The top floor had a walk out (probably the main bedroom he thought) that came within 5' of the cliffs. This would be a perfect place to drop. The walkout would shield them and they could drop right under it. That meant 1 up top and 1 on the ground. They needed a distraction to make it work. The lake was located east of Elkhart, about a 35 minute drive. About 20 feet behind the house was the sheer cliff he had noticed when he determined this one to be last target they would check. "Gotta believe if they want me they'll set that trap there. They are looking at this as to how I would breach the place and that is obvious. But that walk out balcony gives us the advantage. A diversion in front and we fast rap down right under it."

"It's also the best from a tactical standpoint. The HRT unit is what they won't necessarily expect and that gives us our element of surprise, especially if it's just the 2 of em. It appears they are held towards the front. Most likely that upper 1/2 story. That house would have no basement and the bottom floor is too easy to get out of if they get loose. We gotta be careful when we go down the embankment-we can be seen from those windows but the balcony makes that risk really low. Maybe we don't hit the ground but go in the windows instead."

"It's a thought but we don't know if the windows are locked, wired, or barred. It will take more time but I think it's better to go in the first floor. Fewer unknowns and even then there are still a bunch of them." This from Granger.

After a few seconds "yea, probably best in the long run. I'm gonna make a couple calls. You think they will rig anything given only 2 of them? They gotta figure we would come heavy. Anyway, I gotta contact Sheriff Yoder in LaGrange County to advise and get ok to go into his territory. Also need to formally request his HRT (hostage rescue team) they would be familiar with the area and might help with some added ideas or intel. Also, I'm thinkin we gotta drive in. I'll have med flight on standby thru the sheriff. Now go get ready. I gotta make some calls." As he started to dial he saw Granger shake his head no to the question of rigging something up.

About ½ hour later the sheriff came out of his office and said "we're all set. HRT and med flight on standby. Med flight will stage at a location with a 10 minute ETA, a church parking lot, 1 chopper ready with EMT team on board and 1 on standby. We'll meet up at the sheriff's office, review things one last time and leave from there. We can approach by foot from above and on the beach and unless they have someone on sentry duty we won't be heard." Then he went to a locked cabinet, opened it and got a vest and assault rifle. The vest had multiple ammo pockets for the rifle as well as his sidearm. He grabbed a knife, several clips for each weapon and suited up. "You need anything Granger?"

"Nope, brought my gear with me and he too was ready to go." Deeks handed him an earpiece and the receiver unit. He strung the line under the back of his vest and clipped the battery pack/receiver unit to his belt. The 2 men went out and got in Deeks cruiser. As they pulled out Deeks hit the lights and sirens and was going near 90 miles an hour when he got to the edge of town. The normal1 ½ hour drive took about 55 minutes as Deeks kept his foot in it the whole way. Granger was a little surprised at the seeming urgency in the sheriff's driving and commented on it.

"They're in this because of me Granger. I'm already off their Xmas list so gotta figure they will be really pissed and blame me if something happens to one of them. 'Sides truth be told they are still important to me, just hoped that it would be a lot different relationship by now. I was even figuring on joining NCIS after Kensi said yes so I couldn't get pulled back to LAPD anymore. I will put the attitude away but you asked and that's the truth."

"What makes you think they'd accept you as an agent-NCIS OR those 3?" This was the snarky Granger he had come to expect.

"Well 1st Hetty has approved my application already. All it needs is signing and submitting. She has also told me she was comfortable that she could arrange for me to be stationed in LA as long as that's what Kensi and I wanted and we kept the relationship out of the workplace. As for G and Sam I'd be willing to take my chances."

"Oh well, guess then it might of worked" was all Granger mumbled as they pulled up to the sheriff's office in LaGrange. Sheriff Leroy Yoder was already waiting for him with the 4 man HRT unit already armored up. Smiling Marty said "LD thanks for the help" and after introductions all around the Sheriff Yoder went on "Anytime Marty, you've done the same for me. Got the board set up and the guys are prepped best I could. It's all yours to walk em thru it and finalize plans. You gonna need me or just the team?"

"Just the team LD" as they walked into the conference room where a board was set up with pics of the area, obviously from files and a blow up map of the immediate area so they could look at various options for breaching the location.

"Good I have a couple things that need my attention and then I need to be in court-closed hearing-so I'll leave you to it. Com unit will be in and on so yell for help if you need it" then looking at the HRT team he added "Sheriff Deeks is in charge. He's good at what he does. I trust him so cover his 6 like you would mine and bring the hostages home safe." Then he nodded at Marty adding "all yours. They are a good team. Trained up by the state so they know their stuff. Trust em to get it done and good luck son." Then he grabbed his hat, shook Deeks hand and walked out the door.

 **Ok, getting in the deep stuff now. How we doing.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Time to go get em right?**

As soon as Sheriff Yoder left the room Deeks began walking everyone thru the plan. He and Granger had tweaked it slightly on the way over and then he ended it by saying "that's all the facts. Now for some speculation-educated but still just speculation. They are after me. I have ties to these people from my time as an LAPD detective. Keep that in mind. They may not be looking to take people out but to capture me. DO NOT DO ANYTHING STUPID TO SAVE ME. The hostages are the first, last and only concern you have. They have to be moved to safety first. Once that is achieved, then we deal with what we have to. Remember, once they have me they will back off. The smart play is to then insure the hostages' safety and then come back, not cause all hell to break loose and get people hurt or killed."

"What the hell Deeks" interrupted Granger.

"I am the law here Granger. We do not worry about ourselves-you know that. Same reason Sam and I didn't talk strapped in Siderov's chairs. Protect the innocent. The hostages are the 1 and only priority. My sworn job is to save them. I wear the badge, I am the law. I know the risks period. Work with it or walk. I haven't got time for a debate" the he turned back to the HRT unit saying "I repeat one FINAL time get them to safety and then worry about me. But no unnecessary chances. Is that absolutely clear cause if you have a problem with it I need to know now?" Then he looked around the room into the eyes of each man there and the 1 woman who lead the HRT team. Seeing no concerns or wavering his eyes came upon Granger's who had a strange look in them but he nodded. While Deeks was briefing the HRT team and going over details Granger thought of the talk they had on the way over. In the background he heard the Sheriff say "Deputy Mueller, a word in private please" as he became lost in his thoughts _I didn't realize how bad he was hurting. Not only did she say no, now she lied about it. And not one person tried to call or find him. Sam and the wonder twins are or were solid friends he thought and not one of them reasoned it out. Like he said, he didn't change his phone # or email address and yet not one phone call, text or email. When Granger hinted that if this worked out Marty might think about returning Deeks had almost wrecked them at 120 mph. Then he simply said no one even thought to ask for my side of the story. If that's friendship I don't need it. People here have_ _proven_ _to be friends._ As Deeks handed something to the deputy he then finished up by telling the team to go and load up, he then turned back to Granger and asked "what?"

"Why would you say that sheriff? Why tell em to let you go and save the agents? I agreed but I don't understand? It's an unwritten rule that we are the expendable ones where innocents are concerned but these 3 are agents, hardly innocent. You are telling them not to make an effort to save you."

"Again Granger, it's my job. This is a rescue situation. I will not have more deaths on my head if I can help it. Priority 1 is to get them out. In this situation they are innocents, not agents. They are in this ONLY because of me. Their agent status not withstanding it is irrelevant in this situation except as it helps them and makes it easier to save them. If we get that done, then we worry about the rest. Besides the only person who'll miss me is my mom-well also Monty but he's taken with mom so he'll be ok."

Granger glared at him and barked "what about all of us at the office, not to mention the agents?"

"Really-AGAIN, she said no" was the only response but the look was more than enough- - _'we've beat it to death, end of story now shut the f*** up!'_

Granger just stared at the man in front of him. _This was not the goofy, shaggy detective who always looked at the positive side, the glass half full guy. Ready with some innane comment that was timed just right to relax the group. He was thoroughly beaten. Kensi's rejection and the team's refusal to even look for him (meaning they believed he had cheated on her) had hurt him deep. It turned him sour on life as well as the people of OSP and especially the 3 missing agents. This was a job and nothing more to him. It used to be something important to Deeks-to make a difference but no more._ Once they saved the agents Granger swore to himself that he was gonna rip em all a new one and, at least, make em willing to talk to each other again. He had to at least try to get this man back to where he looked forward to the next day, not dreaded it. That would take all 3 agents being willing to be open and honest. Something that hadn't happened in a long time.

With that they got into 2 cars and drove-lights only to insure surprise. They parked at a location next to Sal's Boat & Bait Shop. Granger noted a helipad in the corner and had a curious look on his face. "Used for Life-Flight. If someone is injured on the lake or near it. There is a Conservation Police Cruiser on call 24-7 and normally on the water during peak usage periods. They are on tach 4 if we need em."

They rolled up on the area quietly. Deeks and Granger then proceeded to the top of the cliff. They watched the HRT as they staged and prepared to breach the house to cause the planned commotion. Then the HRT leader gave the 3-2-1 call and pounded on the door. "County Sheriff, open up!" They then stepped back as the 2 up top rappelled down. At the count of 10 the HRT team breached the front door. That was the agreed to time frame. Sheriff Deeks and Granger got to and started in the back door. All of a sudden Deeks got the feeling it was too quiet. As he stepped into the house yelling "Sheriff's Department" followed by an "oh shit" and then the world went dark.

 **OOPS who woulda thought they hit a snag**


	14. Chapter 14

**Now all they gotta do is get the hell out of here.**

Granger woke up about 45 minutes later. He along with the 3 agents and Deeks were tied to chairs. The agents were awake but Deeks had a hood over his face. As the cobwebs cleared he heard one of the kidnappers say "finally you are awake. That means the 4 of you need to listen quickly before you get knocked out again, possibly for the last time."

"Who the hell are you and why is agent Blye's blouse half ripped off? Did you hurt her you sick- - -"

"Easy tiger, it tore during the fight, although your version has its merits. She was the more aggressive of the 3 shall we say. As I was saying, I am Mark Saunders, son of Lawrence. Does that ring a bell?"

The agents looked at each other and finally Kensi blurted out "Ray testified against a man named Lawrence Saunders."

"That was my father. I swore the people responsible would pay. He was killed in prison by some white supremacists. The people responsible are Ray Martindale who the Detective will give up the location to before I kill him. And this is my wife Victoria Lazik, I believe you also know that name. We have made a pact to take out the Detective and Ray for what they did to me and what he did to her. We have been planning this since we made that phone call to start a bogus IA investigation. Then Seaman Marcel Jones became a target for us-a contract hit you might say from a certain group in LA-and lo and behold there was Sheriff Deeks in the middle of everything. The opportunity was too good-$100 K for the hit AND we get him for free (nodding at Deeks). The bonus is we get to use you as bait. Shouldn't be too tough on ya as it appears you all can't stand each other so maybe I'm doing you 4 a favor also, hum?" You want I should post his death to one of your cells so you can watch? Then a huge grin appeared on his face as he went on. You have about ½ hour to talk before he wakes up and the 2 kidnappers left the room.

"Why just him, we were all part of both cases also" barked Sam.

"Yea but you 3 got in on the tail end. Deeks and Ray were the ones that made it happen. Besides, the heat of killing 3 federal agents would keep us on the run for the rest of our lives. Killing a County Sheriff and some no name in WitSec will bring a lot less heat and die down quickly. Then we can go on with our chosen profession." They all thought about that. Sam was thinking _these 2 are certifiable. Reasoning with ain't gonna work._

Just then he heard "Didn't you bring anyone else Granger" growled G "is it really just the 2 of you?"

"For your information the sheriff's HRT team was supposed to breach from the front as a diversion while we came in the back coming down the cliff. He figured correctly he was the target and was pretty much offering himself up as he told the HRT team that they had 1 responsibility, to get the 3 of you out of here. Not to worry about him. Once you were safe then and only then could they could come back for him. It was the right call and by the book. You 3 were the victims, he's the cop. Same thing you would do if the situation was reversed. But he is doing it cause he doesn't care anymore, especially about anyone that is associated with NCIS and especially OSP. He made that painfully clear. That shaggy guy that used to be motivated to help people and do good is now simply doing a job. He doesn't want anyone's death on his head. He is no longer the glass half full, Mercury in retro grade, we don't flush for #1 guy ' . . . Granger was in full fume right now. If we get out of this you will make peace with him at least and own up to the truth. He at least deserves that much respect. Just maybe that will be enough to give him a reason to enjoy life again. Questions? And the reaction was total silence as 3 agents simply stared at him then over to Deeks.

Just then the HRT members were dragged into the room, 2 at a time, unconscious. Victoria offered "the front room was rigged to release knockout gas if a code was not entered in the pad. Same with the back. We expected the back would be the breach point but on the off chance you brought a team or simply tried to kick in the front door we were ready. That was my husband's idea. We'll be back in 30 minutes and then the fun begins. For your information, after we get Ray's WitSec location, Deeks goes for a dive with no scuba gear. Should be fun watching him blow bubbles on the way down. In the meantime he will be out a little longer. We plan on making him think all of you are dead so he has no reason not to talk." And laughing loudly she left the room again.

The agents were bound and tied to chairs as was Deeks who also had a hood over his head while the HRT team was bound hand and foot laying on the floor. Deputy Mueller growled "never had a chance. The gas was hooked to a motion sensor. When we breached it triggered the gas. It came from every direction immediately. We had to time to react, get our masks out or get out. I apologize. We checked for any booby traps and there were none. We never considered a motion sensor. It must have been wireless and set up such that it wasn't visible on the scope when we inserted it under the door. We assumed they just had look outs at that point. Those we were prepared to deal with"

All 4 NCIS people saw the honestly sorry look on the faces of the HRT members. Then one of the team went on saying "what is your problem with him by the way? It is pretty apparent he wants nothing to do with you and has some bad feelings about NCIS that run really deep. He's always been good to everyone up in this area. We small, rural areas help each other. Sheriff D always was willing to let us use his facilities, even equipment if needed, and was he always the first in line to offer aid even though he only had a 2 man shop, they were always there when needed."

Granger and the 3 agents stared at the team and then each other. Finally G said "I can understand his being pissed at her but why everyone else. Makes no sense. We didn't do anything. Especially Sam. They had history and a connection."

 **One lecture from Granger may be coming up. But we gotta get some people saved first.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Maybe time for some shoot em up soon. I just realized I posted a chapter out of order. Here is the correct chapter in the correct sequence-the agents and HRT have to get loose first then go after Deeks! Thanks to the reviewer who caught this**

"Exactly growled Granger. You all, plus the wonder twins and even I bought her story of his cheating. Hetty never did. Hetty even told me it would be impossible for him to cheat on her and I wouldn't listen. She said, rightly that he had gone thru too much effort to get this far with her. I finally realized she was right but it was too late and then I heard the tape. The reason he's mad at everyone is simple. All his 'supposed friends' bailed on him. That includes every one of us except Hetty. We all heard Kensi's story and assumed it to be true. Never considered any options or gave him a chance to tell his side of it as no one ever asked for it-not even Hetty even though she claimed she didn't believe it. As he said he never changed his phone # or email address yet not one called, texted or emailed asking how we was, where he was or what his side of the story was. We now know we were lied to but the bridge has been burned, blown up and then demolished and hauled away."

The 3 agents looked at each other Finally Sam muttered "shit. I never even considered that option." Finally he went on "Kensi we need to know why. I cannot believe you told him he was #2. Please tell me he doctored the tape or something. I'm sure G ripped you a new one so you don't need me piling on right now anyway. I would probably say something we could never come back from but why. Anything else he would have dealt with and would have stayed and fought for you. "

After a deafening silence she took a deep breath and then she began "no he didn't doctor the tape. I didn't, er-a-I don't- - - damn it. I was petrified ok? Every man I've ever cared about has up and left me after I gave my heart and soul to them. Dad, Jack, even Dom who I had just started letting in. I just didn't believe Marty wouldn't someday also, no matter what he said or did so I blurted out something without thinking. I just wanted to get away and think to make sense of everything going thru my mind. Besides what was wrong with the way things were going? He could have just left well enough alone. I just couldn't deal with it. Never did I think he would leave me. He promised he never would but now I realize I gave him no choice. I chased away the best thing that ever happened to me and ruined everything. And now it's too late. It's obvious he has a home here and has settled in. The best thing we could do is to get out and make sure he is safe when this is all over."

"NO" Granger actually barked. You will set down and work it out. G and Sam need to apologize and you and he have to get to a point where he can live with what happened and not hate anymore. If that doesn't happen you will all have failed your friend AGAIN let alone you ever have another relationship Blye! The man needs closure-understanding of the why behind what you said. And you need to do the same to ever have a chance to move on and you know it." Even Kensi had to agree with that statement.

"Agents the growl and gripe session can happen later. We gotta go. Then the agents and deputies remembered they had to hustle as they had about 1 ½ hours till dark. Then things got twice as hard. Mueller immediately grabbed Marty's office radio handset keying the mike saying "this is Deputy Mueller- -LaGrange- -badge # 8762 need 2 choppers Middlebury pad stat. Sheriff Deeks is down, respond and state ETA, repeat immediate.

At once she heard "Logan in South Bend in air in 2 ETA 8" followed by "Calendar at Elkhart #2 in air in 4 ETA in 12."

She then went to Deeks gun room and opened it. "Agents grab what you need" then keying her shoulder mike she barked "Mueller for Yoder" getting a "go" back. "Need weapons and vests at Sal's Boat Shop 25 ETA. They got Deeks but rest are safe." All she heard was "shit-done" and then silence. Going on she said "let's go to the helipad" and she headed out. Out front she flagged down an SUV and told the driver what she needed and why.

Once in the chopper, Deputy Mueller looked at the 3 agents and snarled "I hope the 3 of you are worth the life of a good man." Looking at the confused faces of the 4 of them she went on "how we ended up back here is based on the fact they wanted him and he knew it and told me this would probably happen though not get brought clear back here. Guessing that was to prevent us from getting back to them quickly. Did any of you even wonder how I had a key to his gun room? Remember what I told you- -our orders-FROM HIM-we simple. Save the 3 others. They are the ones who were kidnapped. It happened in our jurisdiction, that makes us responsible to save them, not each other. If they were 3 kids or strangers, it wouldn't even be up for question. He knew he might not be coming back and he was telling me to do the job we are paid for. Save the hostages. I gotta be honest, it hurt when he said that. In another world Marty and I may have hooked up but he hasn't had a date since he moved here. He once said 'once burned, twice learned, never again. I had no idea what that meant until today. I'm guessing you're the reason and she was looking straight at Kensi."

Then there was silence as they all prepared for the impending battle during the 15 minute chopper ride. Each one lost in thought and especially pondering the deputies last words. Kensi especially was having an obviously tough time. Lost in thought she was blaming herself. _If I say yes or at least say no I'm not ready ask in 6 months or I'm scared or anything else this doesn't happen and him, Sam, G and the whole OSP office don't hate me. I froze and I'm not sure why. I was sure and still am of how I feel about him so what bothered me. Kids, fear of him becoming his dad, him leaving me, me being shot, all the above, none of the above. Am I going nuts? Why does it still bother me after this long. Can I even try to make this right? We gotta save him before I can even think about that. Wow, look at Sam and G, even Deputy Mueller are looking at me like I killed their puppy. In a way I did. Deeks was kinda like a faithful dog. No matter what he always had your back. All he wanted was to liked and respected AND to be loved by me. How tough should that have been? Will this team every function properly again? Damn this is too much. My brain is out of control on overdrive. Then she forced her mind to go blank. She couldn't deal with any more pain, loss, hurt_ , _self-recrimination-anything_.

 **Ok, so let me know if I've gone off the rails on not. Thinking 4-5 more chapters plus an epilogue if there are any loose ends to clear up. Oh and Granger just may get one more ass chewing in fore this is over-or 2 or 3. He is supremely pissed!**


	16. Chapter 16

**NOTE-I POSTED A CHAPTER OUT OF ORDER. IT HAS BEEN FIXED, CHAPTER 15**

 **IS NOW THE CORRECT ONE AND CHAPTER 16 IS THE OLD CHAPTER 15-WHO'S ON**

 **FIRST-SORRY ALL**


	17. Chapter 17

**Now on to the rescue and then?**

All their thoughts were interrupted when they heard the pilot say "on the ground in 30" as he eased up on the stick to start the descent to Sal's Boat Shop's parking lot. Shortly after the 2nd chopper was on the ground. True to his word the sheriff was there with weapons and vests for the HRT. The 3 agents and Granger (who was in the other chopper) had armored up at Deeks office.

"Listen up" barked Sheriff Yoder. "I sent a couple men up on the ridge to observe. They just radioed me that the 2 perps loaded the sheriff into a boat and headed out to the middle of the lake. They stated that it looked like he was tied up and what appeared to be 3 anchors roped together were attached to his legs. Also said he looked like he'd had the crap beat out of him. Pretty obvious what's gonna happen. You gotta go now AND FAST."

Sam spoke immediately "Sheriff, we need a chopper to get to em fast." Then he motioned to the pier "and the 3 of us will get there via the water." As the agents ran for the pier the other 2 saw what Sam had seen coming in- jet skis and jumped on. The sheriff gave the pilot the crank it up sign. 5 minutes later the chopper was coming up on the boat just as the agents closed in also. The good news was the boat had twin outboards on it so the engine noise masked and blended in with that of the choppers and jet ski's sounds they were close. The HRT and Granger followed in the 2nd chopper just in case.

Suddenly G yelled "shit" as they watched the kidnappers wrestle Deeks (good news, he was alive and awake, bad news he was about to get wet) to the edge and throw him in. G yelled "Kensi, hit the motors." And she began firing her automatic rifle on full auto. Quickly the clip was emptied but she was rewarded with smoke and the sound of 2 motors coughing and sputtering then dying. At that point G ordered "Sam get Deeks, Kensi with me on the boat. They pulled up and Kensi covered them while G jumped on board. Then Kensi did the same. At the same time the 2 kidnappers attacked and a major fight ensued. G and Kensi were both taken back by the sudden attack and the skills of the opponents. Kensi took several shots to the ribs before finally getting 2 shots to the jaw of Victoria. She then took one to her right eye but finally a left to the nose then a knee to the groin did Victoria in. G was having similar problems. He was more a grappler than a fighter and the boat provided little room for that. After trading blows several times Saunders had G bent over the rail and was threatening to put him in the water. As a last resort G pulled a Kensi and brought his knee up hard and squarely to his opponent's nom de plumes. After several more minutes of fighting they got the 2 subdued and cuffed. They both turned to the edge to look for Sam at the same time.

As all this was going on 2 other things happened. The choppers arrived on scene and hovered overhead and the Conservation Police arrived. At the Conservation Boat shone a flood light on the area that Sam had gone down in. To G the water appeared to be about 30' deep and clear. With the lights they could see Sam and the anchors Deeks had been tied to but no Marty. Finally Sam surfaced and shrugged holding his hands out in the no luck sign. Kensi put her head on G's shoulder and just stood there as he put an arm around her. All of a sudden the heard her scream "NOOOOO!" Then she launched herself overboard and dove down looking for Deeks herself. After the 3rd time she went down and came up Sam grabbed her. She immediately began fighting and struggling with him. On land she might hold her own but in the water- -he is a SEAL after all. At last he got her to the rail of the boat. At that point he literally picked her up and threw her on board. Standing there looking a little like a drowned rat, she pulled her weapon and started at the 2 perps who had been seated while they hooked the boat up to tow it to shore.

"G" screamed Sam. G wheeled just in time to grab Kensi's arm and managed to aim the gun towards the lake as it went off. "They deserved to die" was all she screamed over and over as she just stood there dripping wet and finally went to her knees head in hands and just cried. G took her weapon and her knife just to be sure nothing else happened.

Finally they moved over to the Police Boat and headed for shore, the kidnappers boat in tow and the kidnappers on their knees on the fore deck. The choppers spun and headed back also, obviously landing before the agents returned. Sam had climbed on board before they left and explained "when I got down there he wasn't hooked to the anchors. The rope had been cut. I swam expanding circles looking all around including up and nothing. I don't know what happened to him but I have to assume the worst until we find him or- - -"and he left that sentence unfinished, the obvious conclusion hanging in the air. Then they all looked at Kensi who just shrugged. They took that to mean she didn't see anything either.

At that point Granger and the HRT team came up to them after landing. "Blye face it, he's gone and it's your fault." He was glaring and G thought smoke might be coming out of his ears. That was the final straw she broke and started pounding on Granger. He simply grabbed her and locked her arms up as he wrapped his around her and let her fall apart on his shoulder. Sam stomped over to where Granger was holding Kensi, all the while glaring at her. Finally he said "saddle up we have to drive back in the car he and I came over in and then face his mom. These choppers need to get back in service also. I arranged with Mueller to let us take the car back. We need to talk on the way. She is none too happy but finally agreed. None of us are gonna get a Xmas card from her or anyone else around here. Now get in the car and let's get this over with."

 **Not good, I'm getting the feeling that Granger is gonna give em a major ass chewin' let me hear from ya. FYI North Twin is a great fishing lake-clear and clean, not real deep until the very middle and a couple small channels that, if you know where and when give you great blue gill fishing.**


	18. Chapter 18

**NOTE-I POSTED A CHAPTER OUT OF ORDER THEN REPOSTED IT AGAIN**

 **WHAT WAS MISSING WAS HOW THE AGENTS GOT AWAY. THAT HAS BEEN FIXED**

 **CHAPTER 14 HAS BEEN REPLACED WITH THE CORRECT CHAPTER 14**

 **I AM SORRY FOR THE MESS UP, NOT SURE IF IT WAS ME OR FANFIC BUT I THINK IT IS FIXED**


	19. Chapter 19

**Grab your socks, Granger Danger**

On the drive back Granger finally lost it and blew up at the 3 agents. In his raspy but velvet voice "I'm gonna have my say and then this is over and we go on with things. First and foremost, that little show of concern on the boat is a little late don't you think Agent Blye. Whose benefit was if for-your or ours? Maybe we wouldn't be here if you'd shown some of that fight a long time ago. As for the other 2 of you-and me for that matter-we get to live with letting down a friend who NEVER EVER let any one of us down and always came thru-the laser room, from a hospital bed, Siderov, Afghanistan-remember all those? And he never once asked for help. Hell we almost didn't get him back after Siderov cause none of you thought him important enough to check on despite the signs he was struggling and prolonged absence. You were satisfied to call him, knowing he wouldn't answer. Hetty is the one that actually made the effort to see him. Now you all profess to be so upset and mad at what happened. We own this to our grave and I for one am struggling with my part in it. The 3 of you should feel like shit for a long time. Maybe then you'll figure out that you need to be there for teammates when something happens, not turn your backs cause he is different. Not everyone is like the 3 of you-Ken-Barbie and G.I. Joe. Some are Shaggy. I know he tried to see Blye after Afghanistan but she turned her back on his help at that point. History seems to repeat itself with you doesn't it. You treat perps better than you have treated him most of the time. Ok end of tirade. We don't speak of it again." The rest of the journey was in silence as the 3 agents were lost in their own thoughts. None of those thoughts good. Granger had given them a royal and well deserved ass chewing and they were all embarrassed by what he said.

1 ½ hours later the 4 NCIS employee's thankfully were out of the car and walking into the Middlebury Sheriff's Office as Kensi snarled "I said I will do it. It's on me, end of discussion. You three are gonna lynch me anyway so let me do this and she walked towards the sheriff's inner office ending the debate as to who was gonna tell Susie about her son. As she knocked and then pulled the door open they heard- - -

 _Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me_

After the song was finished Susie looked around and noticed the 4 people standing there listening. "You have a beautiful voice maam" said Sam with a very sad look. Susie just stood there actually blushing.

"Thank you. That song was my theme song and my salvation while I was healing. Marty and I have done it as a duet in church several times. I also used to sing it to him at night to ease his pain after we'd been beaten" was her answer. Then "what's wrong, where's Marty, you all look like you lost your . . . . . ." And then she just stared the answer apparent and she threw he hand up over her mom saying "oh no not Marty. Not my baby, please."

She was about to feint or at least fall when G got to her and helped her set down. "Sam get her some water."

"To hell with that, the Makers is in the credenza behind his desk and there's ice in the fridge. We all could use one from the looks of you 3. Now G you get the scotch and Sam, you and her get in there and dry off a little. Now hop to it agents." The 3 just kinda stared at her and she added "what-I rehabbed from abused wives syndrome not being a drunk. Who doesn't like a good scotch?" And there it was the 'Deeks smile' that could light up a room. They all chuckled at the quick 'recovery' allowing her to take over.

Sam couldn't help but smile as he said "yes maam." Thinking _just like Marty-bounce back and worry about others first._ And he responded like a true SEAL and followed orders.

After they all had a drink in their hands and were seated Susie very quietly asked "now tell me everything from the time you left here."

Starting from when they left Kensi told her every detail up till their return. She ended by saying "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. All he needed to stay in LA was the truth and I didn't have the courage to give it to him. We would have worked it out from there and eventually I would have said yes. I had to deal with so many fears first and it cost me the man I love, the man who always came back and always had my back and despite everything, became the friend of everyone at OSP including Granger (who was looking down and very sheepish at the moment). Again, I am very, very sorry. I-I-I er a I would like to sit down with you privately and tell you about the man your son became and just share some of his life you probably don't know." Everyone just stood there. They had never heard Kensi that open and honest before. Just maybe she was on the road to recovery.

Just then G piped up saying "it's all our faults. We took Kensi's word for what happened and never tried to contact him. That makes this on all of us, Granger, Hetty and the wonder twins also. We all failed him. For what it's worth Kensi hasn't been the same person since this happened."

"My goodness. Just look at all of you and listen to what you are saying. All of you are fighting each other to be the first to jump on your sword to take blame for everything. First of all that's what a team does-take responsibility for each other. Marty always said that was the one thing he truly liked about working with you. It was always everyone's success or failure, no finger pointing unless it was about some silliness like Mercury being in retrograde. (that brought some smiles as they all looked at her) Yes he told me all those stories. Truth is he did that just to relax everyone. Give them something silly to focus on because of all the crap you see every day. You need to know he once told me the reason he switched from being a lawyer to being a cop was simple. He couldn't save me but that pushed him to want to save people. So if you 3 are here that means he did just that somehow. What I never told him was that I had failed to save him from the ordeal of having to shoot that son of a bitch husband. I found that gun he used when I was cleaning his room but couldn't bring myself to use it. No one would have convicted me of anything but protecting my child but instead I deserted him. I put him in the system and deserted him. My son, my flesh and blood. That is what I had to come to grips with in therapy as much as battered wife issues. So does that mean I should take the blame? No!? And yes Kensi we will meet later tonight and talk privately as I would love to hear those stories. I also have some things you should hear and maybe a memento or 2 for you. Now bottoms up, then all of you shoo and leave the women to cry over their man. That is not for any of you to see." But they could all see her lip starting to quiver. She was barely holding it together, being strong for them. Shortly they all said their good nights and it was her and Kensi. But as Sam and G walked back to the B & B they both thought the same thing. _That is one amazing woman. I know where Deeks got it._ Then looking at each other at the same time they just smiled and made a sharp left into the bar. They had to have at least 1 more toast to a man they cared about more than they thought.

 **There you have it. 2 more chapters and an epilogue. Hope you all still enjoy this, let me know.**


	20. Chapter 20

**What now? Been a lot of ass chewing-now we have two women just talking about someone they both loved.**

Just before they had left Susie had invited them all to church the next day. She suggested they needed it to put things in perspective. They agreed to try to be there and left.

Settling in Kensi and Susie began to chat. Kensi began by saying "I know Marty has told you a lot so I'll try to stick to things you might not. Probably violate 20 non-disclosure laws but to hell with it. She talked about the day in the laser room, coming out of his hospital bed, the details of Siderov and how she had hurt him when he saved her and the others in Afghanistan by almost ignoring him. Kensi talked about his love of kids, of the band 'Touching Wood' (who Susie confirmed) and other little stories of just who Marty had become in Kensi's eyes. Susie just smiled, her thoughts easily read. _Wow, my Marty did all that?_ Then Kensi said "but that's not who he was. He was just an amazing person. He understood me long before I understood myself. My sick sense of humor, the punching, the sugar fixes and the walls. He has the patience of Job and the wisdom of Solomon. He was just a unique human being. He cared about everyone and everything. He saw good where the rest of us saw trouble. He forced himself to swallow his feelings for me for so long and never gave up. He expected and deserved more from me Maam. I let him down bigtime. You should be proud of him. I'm betting a lot of you is what went into making him to be who he is-a-was."

Susie was quiet for several minutes, taking a sip of scotch and refreshing both their drinks. Finally she began "He got the kind and gentle from me. The fearless came from his father. I had no courage. That is obvious. I ran and deserted him. The reason he reacts as he does and tries to do good- -I hope he gets from me. Courage and the ability to be me-like Max-he obviously gets from his dad. I just hope the caring he got from me tempers that and makes him strong, brave and tough. He definitely gets his love of animals from me. He brought home every stray he ran into and begged to take care of it. His dad simply killed em all in front of little Marty. He never had one day of fun as a child. That's why he likes childish things I think. He finally has the freedom and desire to enjoy them-and someone to enjoy them with. That part of him doesn't exist anymore-as you might expect. He still loves animals. He spends time in the country with all sorts of them and is trying to learn to ride, although I'm not sure how well he's doing. What you did was take the spark out of him for a long time. He went thru the motions. (Kensi was hanging her head and tears had started) No Kensi, don't do that-it's normal. The thing you need to remember is that he told me after the hurt and pain left he was sure the love was still there. It was up to you to try to make it work, but he would have listened. Maybe, had he made it, you 2 could have forged a peace treaty. It might be a slow process but I'd like to think the 2 of you would have made it back to some sort of friendship."

Then Kensi was in full bawling. She stuttered and stammered the best she could finally saying "I am so sorry. I let down. I let the team down and I let you down. All he needed was anything but what I did say and this wouldn't have happened. It's all my responsibility. What is wrong with me?"

"Dear nothing is wrong with you except you have been burned by a lot of men. Marty told me all about the men in your life especially Jack-who Marty has-a-er-had a rather strong dislike for. Those 2 in a room would not have gone over well. But you listen to me, the last thing he told me a couple days ago was that the hurt and disappointment was finally gone and he realized the love was probably still there. He was seriously trying to figure out how to come back in some manner. He has to deal with the IA thing. He wanted it in writing they wouldn't pursue it, then he was gonna see if he could still join NCIS. He wanted to, at least, be friends and partners with you again. That was to be a condition of him coming back-the 3 of you had to agree. His final words were 'and then we go from there and see what happens, if anything.' So you see he was starting to sort it all out."

The 2 women kept talking (and drinking) until the next thing they knew, they were waking up at about 10 am. Church was at 11 and Susie chased Kensi out to get ready. Yes jeans and a shirt were fine. Just get a shower and cleaned up. At that point they began walking back to the B & B. The conversation had turned lighter as both of them had talked and cried it out the night before (and if they had to admit, they were more than a little hung over). Susie said "before you leave I want you especially, and even the others to go thru Marty's things. If there is anything you want to take with you that would be fine. There are a few things I want to keep-Monty, the violin and guitar mostly but a couple pictures of the group and you two and several of him."

"I can't, we can't, we don't deserve it" was all Kensi mumbled.

"Nonsense, one thing I learned in rehab is loose the past. Save the good memories, toss the bad. The only good memories of my marriage were of time with Marty. The rest I have buried forever. Besides, you and I have become friends. I want to do this for you. You need closure and maybe a little easing of the pain and guilt. I also want to keep in touch with you and when you find someone I want to sing and dance at your wedding." Just then Susie's phone rang. As she answered she motioned for Kensi to go ahead and she would be along soon. When she said hello, the voice on the line "is this a Susie Deeks or a K. Blye?" 10 minutes later she was knocking on Kensi's door. When Kensi opened it (in robe and?) Susie barked "we gotta go, come on."

Susie barged in to the sheriff's office and growled at the deputy "I need Marty's squad car-NOW." To the deputy's credit he didn't say or ask anything, just reaching into the desk and getting the 2nd set of keys. 35 minutes later they came screeching to a halt outside the entrance to Elkhart Memorial Hospital. They left the lights and flashers on as they ran into the ER area. Susie stormed up to a nurse "Sheriff Deeks now-where" and the nurse, who was back pedaling from the 2 women glaring at her-she pointed to her right and said "room 6." Storming over to the room they almost ran over a doctor coming out of the room. Pulling up short Susie said "how is the Sheriff?"

 **Is it who you think it is-or Sheriff Yoder, Deputy Mueller-what's going on? Let me know what you think. Haven't heard from a lot of ya lately.**


	21. Chapter 21

**Ok, we have confrontation, what happens next? And I had to toss in one little bit of "oh really de ja vu all over again!**

"And you are?" snarked the doctor. I can't give out that information to anyone. This man is a law enforcement officer. The rules are we must have proof of identity. His next of kin are listed as a"- - -referring to a sheet of paper on his clip board "Ms. Susie Deeks or a K. Blye. Can you prove you are either one of those/"

It was then Susie realized she didn't have a purse or a billfold-no id of any kind. She was about to unleash a mothers wrath on the doctor when "Federal Agent Kensi Blye" came from behind her and Kensi flashed her badge and ID. She went on "this is the sheriff's mom. You will let us in now or be held as an accomplice after the fact in the kidnapping and beating of Sheriff Martin Deeks. Now answer the lady's question. And for the record she is Susie Deeks. You may speak now."

The doctor had that 'deer in the headlights look' for a second as Kensi barked again "NOW DOCTOR."

Finally he found his voice and started reading "severe dehydration, severe beating, broken left arm, severely sprained right shoulder, bruises over his entire body, 3 cracked ribs and 42 stitches in various places, most on his inner thighs. It would appear they were trying to force him to tell them something by threatening the family jewels so to speak. He is out of the woods and doing fine now. He is asleep. We have re-hydrated him and taken care of all his wounds and bruises and set the arm. He will be sore as hell for quite a while but should recover fully. He is receiving antibiotics and nourishment thru an IV. We are also watching for a couple types of infection that may prevail due to being in the water for so long. How did he survive do you have any idea?"

"No clue we thought he was dead. May we see him-now" this from Susie.

"I expect him to be out for at least another 3 or 4 hours but you may wait in the room if you wish. I do have other patients to see so if you need something one of the nurses can help you. Also, no cell phone or computer use in the hospital due to the equipment in use at this time." The two women went in and sat down.

After about ½ hour of quiet between the women Susie finally said "this is your chance for redemption. Make peace with him Kensi. Not about getting back together or being partners but making peace with your mistake and moving forward. Don't call the others till after you talk to him so no matter how it goes you can tell them what they need to hear. Can you do that? I will leave the room if you wish."

"NO" Kensi almost screamed. You need to hear it for yourself also. I want to make final peace with the whole Deeks family. If we ever get back together it needs to be all of us" and then after a long pause "although Monty may be a tough sell!" At that point they both started laughing. The tension had been broken and both women got a feeling of relief wash over them.

"Ok, but for the record you and I are ok and will stay in touch somehow" replied Susie and they both settled back to get some sleep. But not before Kensi agreed and gave her a big hug. Both women came to the same realization. They had one thing in common. A love for a Shaggy, goofy sheriff. Then they were out like a light.

5 hours later Kensi's phone started vibrating in her pocket. Waking up and finally realizing what was happening she answered. "Kensi Marie Blye, where the hell have you been?" This from a screaming Julia Feldman. Going on she followed with "I have been calling for 2 days and getting nothing. Now your phone is on so spill-are you ok."

"Wow mom overreact much? You know my job. Things happen." Susie was watching the exchange between Kensi and her mom.

Susie stood and moved over beside Kensi saying "give me the phone dear. Let us mom's deal with this." Seeing the look in Susie's eyes and on her face Kensi just handed the phone over not sure why see did it but knowing it was the right thing.

"Mrs. A-Feldman is it?" Getting a yes then a who's this from Julia, Susie went on "my name is Susie. I'm betting you recognize that name and yes I am his mom. This is a long involved story so you settle in and listen and I'll tell you the whole thing as I go get your daughter and me some coffee and a Twinkie for her." Kensi could hear the roar from her mom from across the room. Soon after that Susie offered "I'll be back soon dear." Then Kensi heard "now first of all they are both fine, just a little the worse for wear." And the door closed.

All of a sudden Julia squealed "is this Susie Quzie from Encino high? Do you remember Julia Culp?

"Oh my goodness Julie-poo oh my" and they were off and running for about 3 hours. Finally Susie said "ok it's a plan heard headed kids meets bull headed mom's. My bets on us girlfriend." Then they giggled some more and hung up as Susie announced "I'm back at his room. Wish me luck and we will keep in touch, promise."

Susie entered Marty's room with a big grin. Kensi noticed and said "so you and mom-"

"Oh my-high school best friends till the ass came into our lives. Chased her away and beat me to where I quit trying. Anyway we have a plan for you 2so don't mess it up. You don't want us both down on the 2 of you. Has he shown any sign of waking up yet?"

Kensi stared for a minute taken back by what she just heard so after an earth to Kensi from Susie she shook her head and mumbled "oh-a-yah nurse just left and all tests were negative so they are easing off the antibiotics and saline. He will still get some nourishment. They also expect him to wake in the next couple hours. Now I need to stretch and call the guys." She grabbed her coffee and Twinkie and walked out the door.

"Sam, no I can't talk right now. Please don't push right now. Something came up that Susie and I had to deal with and then my mom called and she and Susie are high school buddies and it's been weird ever since. I'll call you or G or get back there soonest." Listening she responded "thanks for understanding. I'll call or we'll be back as soon as possible."

She then went to the bathroom, cleaned up a little, got another cup of coffee and headed back to the room. Shortly Deeks started to fidget-the best word for it as he woke up. Soon after that he woke up screaming "go to hell. I would never tell you where Ray is, even if I did know." And he started flailing away at the IV's. Susie moved to him and grabbed him, talking softly while Kensi hit the button for the nurse who came tearing in immediately.

 **Well, he's been found but how is he and how the hell did he survive! Looking like 1 more chapter plus and epilogue, but you never know where the plot fiends may lead me.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Ok, my bad, not the last chapter too many loose ends. We'll see how many it takes.**

She immediately adjusted a couple of IV feeds then went to read his vitals. Everything was off the charts. "He was having a nightmare when he woke up. I know he is in law enforcement and was held prisoner, assuming he was tortured, he was reliving that. He will calm down quickly. I will make sure the doctor is aware of what happened. We will have to make plans to bring him out of his sleep slowly so we can prevent this in the future. Oh and for the record, no cell phones, means no cell phones. We gave you a pass twice no more or we take them. You don't want to be responsible for someone else's pain do you? Understood?" Getting sheepish grins and agreement from both women, the nurse turned and left. Kensi then moved over to Deeks and, taking his hand started whispering to him. Both women then looked at each other and all of a sudden started giggling and shaking their heads.

As Susie watched with great curiosity and then smiled, she offered "only you can prevent patient pain Kensi Blye. We screwed up by using them but nothing happened so why the no cell phone thing?"

Just then the doctor came in. "That was my doing, I had a wounded, obviously tortured sheriff and no clue who or why. I also had 1 woman with no ID and another flashing a badge claiming federal agent status. I was not about to let someone in and then call someone telling him he is not dead and risking another attempt so sue me. Not gonna loose a cop on my watch due to stupidity until I had a chance to check you out. Hetty is expecting a phone call by the way Agent Blye. Now as for his condition, I have reviewed all his tests and talked with the nurse. He is doing fine just the nightmare that you know about. I have issued instructions as to how to bring him around slowly this time. I ask that in about 45 minutes the 2 of you each take a hand and as he becomes progressively more awake, 1 of you start talking quietly. Make him realize all is ok and to relax. If you can do that then he will come awake and should be completely coherent. At that point get a nurse in here. She will know what to do next. As for going home, after a quick check by the nurse and myself he should be good to go. The arm was the big issue, the rest are treat and let heal type wounds.

After he left the 2 women looked at each other, the unsaid question lying between them, who talks and who just holds on and they were also both looking a little sheepish after being 'told off' by the doctor. Finally Susie offered "I best be the one to talk first. Once he is awake and calm you can deal with him. I also think we hold off on calling the guys or it will get too confusing. They can make their peace later-that shouldn't be as hard as what you and he have to deal with. Agreed?" After swallowing and some thought Kensi nodded. After all this time she was gonna get a chance to make it right and then she had a mild panic attack. _Can I do this? Will he listen? Should I just run?_ Before she could finally speak Susie went on yes you can, yes he will and no you will not. I had those same thoughts several times Kensi. We took different paths but much of what we have gone thru is more similar than you think. I know for sure he is ready to listen, you just have to be sure you are ready to talk."

"Honestly I would rather take on 3 knife wielding Gurkhas they face that puppy dog face and those baby blues but I will get thru it somehow-that I promise." Susie just smiled knowing full well what she spoke of and what Kensi just admitted to.

Just then, as they both sat down to wait, they felt Marty stirring. As he opened his eyes Susie, instead of talking as Kensi expected began- -

 _Amazing Grace How sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me_

At that point Marty barely croaked out "Mom? Water." It was Kensi that grabbed the glass of ice and as she started rubbing some on his lips and then holding it there to melt into his mouth he added "what, wh-Kensi? You're alive or am I dead?"

"Easy baby, it's all right. You're in a hospital. Kensi is alive and so are you. Pretty beaten up but nothing you won't recover from. Kensi and I are the only 2 here. We need you to relax and listen. The nurse will be in shortly to check you over" and with that she nodded to Kensi to get the nurse. As she left Susie went on "then the Doctor will check you over and if all is ok, you can go home soon. But before that happens I am gonna sit in that corner over there and you and her are gonna have it out. She gets to go first and you will listen. This is your chance for closure and then whatever you want to happen, if anything but remember everything we have talked about. She is petrified you are gonna pull a gun on her. We both want to know what happened but save it till she gets back."

At that point the nurse walked in. She checked the monitors, IV"s, PB, temperature and pulse. Finally she said "you seem to be pretty normal all things considered sheriff. Any sharp pain or pain we aren't aware of? We know about the arm, ribs, face and inner thighs plus the lump on your head."

He shook his head no and then she went thru the protocol.

"What day is it?"

"How long have I been in here?"

"35 hours."

"That would make it sometime Sunday AM."

"Name and age"

"Sheriff Martin Andrew Deeks and I am 38."

She then checked his pupils for dilation and talked to him a few more minutes. Finally satisfied he was coherent and sane she went for the doctor. He sat there looking at Kensi and wondered what was gonna happen. He was about to speak when the doctor came in. He went thru pretty much the same thing the nurse did and also probed a couple of the injuries, especially to the inner thigh. "You need to keep salve and bandages on those wounds to keep them from rubbing and infecting. You should be able to change them yourself. Past that all else should heal in time. No sign of concussion, infection or the dehydration you were suffering. I would recommend that you watch your diet. You need to eat a little better. Past that you can go home. Don't drive for about 24 hours then watch how you position your legs after that. If all goes well the stitches come out in 7-10 days and the cast 4-6 weeks. The break was a simple fracture." Make an appointment with your doctor for a week from tomorrow to check the stitches and remove if possible. Also he will assess the arm for follow up-you may need to change the cast in 2 to 4 weeks depending on how the arm is doing. Some atrophy is normal. How much determines if you will need another cast put on. Do not get it wet. Understood?" Getting a nod of assent from the patient he went on "good then I will prepare your discharge papers and be back when they are ready."

 **Guess what's next! You still liking this thing?**


	23. Chapter 23

**And now the face offs-I will also remind you what Deeks personality is-when he finally gets up the courage to say something, it's done. He doesn't chew on it and if someone promises to change, he accepts it and reverts to his normal easy going self.**

As he left Susie said "doctor, we want about an hour of privacy please. Can you arrange that? Some things need to be said and discussed. We will find you when we are ready to leave. Is that ok?"  
After thinking for a minute he went on "that works. I brought a set of scrubs for you to wear home. All your stuff is in that bag by the door. The paperwork will be at the desk so just stop there and sign. I will have a security guard posted at the door. Does that work?" Getting a nod he added "and I do kind of apologize for how I acted earlier but we tend to be protective of injured first responders around here. Sorry."

Both women nodded and smiled while Marty looked confused. "Later" said Susie.

The doc was leaving as Kensi approached the side of Marty's bed. Before she could speak Susie offered "I expect you 2 to bury the hatchet before we leave this room. Where you go from here is up to the 2 of you but you will part on decent terms. Understood?" Both of them just smiled and nodded.

Kensi giggled and offered "your mom is something else. I like her. Now a, err, I"

"Kens, it's simple. I know what you need to say but you have to say it. That's the first step. You have to verbalize what you couldn't back then. Ok? I'm not going anywhere so let it go."

"If you know then why- - -oh never mind, yea I get it." Taking a deep breath she started. "Really it's pretty simple. I was just flat scared. Every man I ever cared about either left me or died. The last one I said yes to left me on Xmas morning claiming he was to screwed up to be with me. I was scared. Scared your PTSD would come back and you would run, scared I would lose it, scared one of us would get killed the next day, scared because I wasn't sure I deserved all that happiness after everything else. I froze. All I had to do was say talk to me in 6 months or can we just leave things alone for a while-anything but what I did. I CAUSED you to leave just like the rest and then blamed you. I can't even work with a partner right now. I have gone thru 4. Hetty has given me a date that either I agree to someone or she will give me one and if I don't make it work, I'll be the one to go. Sam, G and the wonder twins are civil to me but that's about all and since they found out I lied they act like I'm a leper. Can't blame em. We have to make this work somehow for my peace of mind and yours. So anything else or does that cover what you thought." And she looked at him not sure what to expect.

All of a sudden "why Agent Blye, you can communicate. Have you joined Toastmasters since I left?" and, with that, all 3 of them broke out laughing-AFTER 2 women let out deep breaths. "But I do need to say one thing and then we never look back ok? That one thing is how in the HELL would you think I would leave you for any reason. I made it back twice because of a promise I made to you. One time when I thought you were dead and it would have been real easy to jump of the deep end. I. NEVER. LEFT. YOU. Why would you think that or at least tell me that was the issue? There, now I've had my say, can we get the fuck outta this joint." And there was the smile and the twinkle both women liked.

Susie then offered "Martin Andrew, you will not talk like that in front of LADIES now I'm gonna step out and call Sam. I will tell them to meet us at the sheriff's office in a couple hours. I know Marty has somethings to say that I may not need to hear" and she was gone.

"I ranted, but now I just have a couple rational things to add. First of all well said Kensi. I meant what I said-it's past history-painful but still history. We have plenty of that and you did cover it. And you're right about what you should/could have done to prevent all this. Any other answer I would have dealt with. Then you lied to the guys at OSP. That hurt even worse. You admitted you were wrong by lying. Then they didn't have the guts to call you on it or to try and contact me. All in all a pretty bad performance and one I just didn't feel I deserved. But that is officially the past. I had my say, sounds like everyone else has also. I need to get closure and move ahead. That means making peace with the past cause it's just that." This gave Kensi cause to pause as it sounded like he had no plans or desire to come back to LA. Then he went on "it's gonna take me some time to decide what I want to do and where I want to do it. Mom has a standing offer to sell the B & B to a chain and go to work for them managing their biggest B & B in Monterey. That would get me back to my beach and surfing. I miss that dearly. But we'll see. For now I promise to talk to you at least once a week-phone or skype if possible. Text and emails as needed and/or as time. The next few weeks should allow plenty of time for us to say a lot of things that probably need discussing, since I be recovering. Things like what happened in Afghanistan. We never talked about our separate tortures. Mine was pretty self-evident but no one knows what happened to you. You shut us all and Nate out. That bothers me. Best case, I come back and we somehow make a go of it at some level-friends, partners, a couple-the possibilities are still endless and I still have my truck. Worst case, we part friends and send each other Xmas cards. Time is the solution to that. Can you live with those terms? And to make it clear, I am not pre-disposed to any outcome, just to find one. Ok?"

Looking at him for a few minutes she finally offered "less than I hoped for but more than I expected so we are good to go and yes, I can live with any those outcomes given the plan in between to become at least friends. All I ask for is visitation rights for Monty" and with that she let out a big breath and grinned. Deeks looked at her and smiled also. She then approached him and said "would it be proper for me to give my friend a kiss on the cheek?" Laughing he replied "no- - - - it's required."

At that moment Susie walked in and taking in the sight of Kensi kissing his cheek she smirked "well the hatchet wasn't buried in either of you and there was no screaming so I assume you have worked things out?"

It was Kensi who spoke first. "Without you it would have been a knockdown drag out. You forced us to handle it outside our comfort zones and honestly it was apparent that Marty had spent a lot of time thinking about this whole thing and pretty sure some time on the couch of his shrink Doctor Susie." Causing them all to chuckle again.

Then turning to look at Marty she said "ok buster. How the hell did you get out of there? Kensi told me what was going on and why they wanted you. Not that it's important now but did you give up Ray?"

"Ok, first I did not give up Ray. Those 2 were amateurs in the art of torture. Kensi and I both know what the real thing is. When I woke up they tried to convince me they killed the HRT and all of the agents but it just didn't ring true. That would make me less likely to talk-no leverage. So I just waited till I had a chance. Unfortunately that didn't come until I was in the lake. A wise person I know told me that the bad guys will look for 2 guns on an agent but never 2 knives. They found the knife that I carry and use all the time but the one in my boot was still there. Anyway on the way down I stooped over and got the knife out, cutting the anchors off by the time I hit bottom. By the time I slowly floated to the top, blowing air out now and then to make em think I was still down there, I was gassed. It was dark and I rolled over and barely got my nose and mouth out of the water to get some air. Then I cut my feet free. Finally I was able to get my hands around to the front-no mean feat with a broken arm. I couldn't do it in back with the broken arm. Ended up with the knife in my teeth and moving hands back and forth in the water, lot less effort and pain. After I got my hands cut free, took my sheriffs belt and my pants belt, buckled them together, looped one around my wrist and secured it and the other I hooked to a tie down spike on the side of the Police Boat. Then I blacked out I think. I woke up to water in my face as the boat pulled up to Sal's. When they cut the engines I screamed loud as I could and they finally heard me. Threw me on a chopper-they hadn't released it yet as the dive team was still searching. The rest you know. Now can we get outta here?"

 **One down and 3 to go, this might be harder than Kensi given his words in this chapter. Let's hear it. This thing still make sense.**


	24. Chapter 24

**Now the "guys" have to face Deeks. Also, didn't hear from many of you after last chapter, did we lose you or was it that bad. Anyway this chapter is the last one. The epilogue will be posted today also.**

Kensi smiled and said "wise person huh?" He just laughed.

"Sam, G and Granger will meet us at the office Marty. I suggest someone call Hetty on the drive back. Can I use lights and sirens again?" She had a big grin on her face as she looked at him.

"You let her drive Kens? She's worse than you. Wow" was Deeks response. The Kensi then asked if they needed to leave while he changed.

"What" barked Susie, not like we haven't seen it before big fella" and the girls giggled and high fived.

Marty shook his head saying "this is what I have to look forward to? I'm the wounded party here."

"Poor baby" smirked Kensi. Deeks just smiled. He had missed this kind of banter. As he looked at Kensi he realized she had also causing them both to share a smile. The women both left at that point, feigning disappointment.

Once they arrived at the office, they were almost accosted by Sam, G, Granger his deputy and Monty. There had been more than a few people along the road as they drove into town including 1 Amish buggy with a family standing beside it and 2 girls on the front seat. Deeks looked to his mom as she blushed saying "I a-maybe-may have made a couple calls. Lotta people were worried about you. Deeks just smiled a put his head back. He was alone in the back seat as the women in his life sat up front. Definitely an omen he thought.

Susie and G backed everyone off. Deeks told the deputy they would talk later but he needed him to get the town back to normal and asked if he would take Deeks regular patrol today. "Tell em I'm dinged up but doin' fine. Now go and thanks for understanding and holding down the fort."

He went to the bathroom, Came back out to a beer being handed to him and then said "ok set down and let's get this all over with." Then he retold his escape and how happy he was that they were alive even though he was fairly sure they had been lying to him about their deaths to get him to give up Ray. After a few questions it came time to face the issue so Deeks looked at them and said "why in the hell did no one try to contact me. You believed her and that was the end of it. The 5+ years meant nothing. I'm pretty sure I earned and deserved better from all of ya, ESPECIALLY you Sam. In a lotta ways I'm madder at and hurt more by what you 3, Hetty and the nerd herd didn't do or say than I am what she did say. With her it was about love and family and foreverness. That's some package to have to deal with given everything she/we've been thru. With the rest it was friendship and having no reason to not think something wasn't right. Me cheat on Kensi- -WITH TALIA-really? G, you and Sam are always looking at things from 3 or 4 sides let alone 2 and you did nothing. You didn't even quiz her to be sure she was telling the truth. As for her and I we have worked out how we go forward and it's need to know and you don't for now. Hetty does. I talked to her on the way back here. Also gave her a big piece of my mind also. I am not her favorite person right now." Then chuckling he added "not sure anyone has ever talked to her that way-or at least lived to tell about it. And for the record, your actions don't give me a warm fuzzy or a reason to consider coming back which Hetty and Kensi have alluded to. I would I work with people who don't trust or believe me." Deeks had worked himself into a full combat mad. He was glaring at Sam, G and Granger who were squirming. Kensi was amazed she never seen any of the 3 of them do that, even under Hetty's legendary Gorgon stare.

Kensi just chuckled saying "she was screaming at him so loud I heard her in the front seat and she wasn't on speaker!"

The 3 men from OSP had an amazed look. They couldn't believe that he had talked to Hetty that way. NO ONE does that and lives.

"For the record she ended by saying there will always be a spot at OSP for a shaggy ex-detective. But that is a future that I haven't gotten to yet- - - if I ever do. For now assume it ain't gonna happen till I hear something from you 3 that makes me think I might want to come back and then it won't be anytime soon. I need to think about a lot of things and what's best for me, not the bunch of you or even her. Right now working with Kensi isn't the issue, working with the rest of you jokers is a non-starter and then I'll deal with her." And he sat there glaring at them while the 3 men looked down at the floor at their hands, the ceiling and finally each other. It was Granger who started to speak.

Sitting up he said "first of all you insolent little sh- - -"

"'Granger do us all a favor and shut up. You'll have him ready to shoot us all in 3 seconds. The goal here is to clear things up for him so he can consider coming back if I understand it. He obviously did that with her" nodding at Kensi. Susie was watching all this knowing what was coming and how big a mistake it would be. Hoping G was the one to stop him but preparing to bust in if needed.

Sam then went on "look Marty, we have history and that"

"Damn Sam you're as dumb as Granger- -trying to leverage friendship when you just got told we burnt chopped it up that bridge then burned the remains."

After a few minutes of silence G spoke in very measured terms. "The truth is sheriff. We went brain dead. After everything we've been thru we still trusted her and not you in that situation. Words don't fix that, actions do. For that to happen you have to return. I promise you I will do all I can to regain the trust and friendship I destroyed. It was not intentional but I did it just the same and for that I am very sorry and ask for your forgiveness, please." Pausing a few minutes to collect himself he went on "your decision to come back has to be based on wanting to partner with Kensi and believing we will rebuild the trust. But anyway you cut it, you have to take a leap of faith to start to make the team whole again. I'm asking you to make that leap. Try to find a little bit of the old trust so you can must up the faith to give it a try-please.

The rest of the OSP people in the room sat there with mouths open. G Callen had just pretty much seriously begged forgiveness. That doesn't happen. On the other hand Susie and Marty just shared a look and smiled.

Nodding and pausing finally Marty said "G man that is what I needed to hear. You got it right, those are the only words that would get me to consider a return to NCIS as one option in the future." Then he sat there looking at Sam and Granger.

Kensi finally exploded off the couch where she sat beside Susie and got in front of Sam and Granger saying "I better hear something appropriately contrite out of both your mouths quick. Deeks doesn't deserve to have his future dictated by you 2 numbnuts, just himself and Susie- -and with any kinda luck maybe me. Do not make me hurt you. I want my partner back-I am better and we are better with him. Anything past that would be a bonus. But we have to be the ones to make it work, not him." Then she plopped down in a huff and glared at the 2 she had been addressing as Susie gave her a little knuckle love. Marty just chuckled silently thinking _score big points for the princess_.

Finally after what seemed like forever Sam said "yea, he's right Deeks. Just didn't want to have to admit it. You got my word man."

After another minute, with everyone glaring at him Granger mumbled "yea I can live with that too."

Kensi thought about making a snarky comment but caught Deeks looking at her with a grin and raised eyebrows that said 'leave that one alone.' So she did.

 **Fade to black, credits will role after the epilogue. Up shortly. Let's hear from ya now everyone.**


	25. EPILOGUE

**Ok, this wraps up loose ends we do a little time hopping but think I got em all labelled. Hope you enjoyed and stuck with it to here thanks and let me hear it.**

2 MONTHS AFTER KENSI FLEW OUT

 **"** Make the damn call" she barked.

Slowly he opened his eyes and put his feet on the floor. Reaching across to the phone he dialed.

5 MONTHS AFTER THE CALL (4-27-16)

"Agents to OPS now" called Hetty as she headed up the stairs.

As they filed in to find her and Owen already there, she nodded to Eric saying "go" and there was director Vance sitting on the edge of his desk.

"Owen, Hetty, agents" he began "I have been looking thru agents for 7 months for a replacement for Detective Deeks. It hasn't gone unnoticed that you have been thru 4 partners in the time since he left Agent Blye." Kensi simply looked down and put her palms out in supplication. Anyway I finally found him coming out of FLETC. Owen and Hetty have reviewed his file and seem satisfied. I am comfortable this one will work or I may have to consider other options." That got the agents attention. Going on "he was top of his class at FLETC, has on the job experience in several related fields and Mr. Hanna. He came within 1 question of matching your scores in mental and physical abilities." THAT got their attention.

"When do we meet this humanoid" chuckled Callen looking at Sam. "Did you make him out to be bald also? That got smiles and eased the apprehension in the room.

"If the timing is right just about now."

 _Back home in Los Angeles_ was what they heard being sung to the tune of "Back Home Again in Indiana". Kensi noticed Owens eyes were sparkling and he was definitely swallowing a full out laugh. All of a sudden someone came thru the door in a nice polo shirt and jeans. Clean Shaven except for a small mustache and goatee plus he had a high and tight haircut. They all noticed he seemed to be carrying about 20 lbs. more mostly in the upper body and the shirt was straining at the sleeves where his biceps were. He also had some nice definition in his neck and shoulders. That didn't go unnoticed by anyone and they all filed it away to find out how.

"Sam Dog, how ya been" and then they all reacted to that smile and those eyes. "What no welcome back hugs? You don't want me?" Sam was the first one there but G and Kensi quickly followed then a handshake from Owen and a hug from Hetty.

Vance finally said "meet Agent Martin Deeks but I believe you have history with him. And Sam, the rumor is he dumped 2 questions so as not to beat you." Deeks just grinned. Shortly the 4 were jabbering like nothing had happened. "He will be partnering with you Agent Blye, is that acceptable?"

Her answer was that smile that Deeks had missed so much-and it said it all.

5 MONTHS LATER

Over the 5 months they had caught up mostly finding out that after Kensi left, Deeks started seriously working out and running. His goal had been to be in better shape all around as the rehab from the arm and other injuries had taken longer than he thought it would. He had started reading anything he could get his hands on regarding the current state of affairs and NCIS's involvement in them. They found out a little birdie had been passing on some NCIS bulletins on the Q.T.

It had been a bitch of a day and case. They had skipped lunch, after having started early barely grabbing a donut on the way out the door. It required Deeks and Kensi to go undercover as husband and wife. He still had on the same suit he'd worn the first time Thappa was in town (Cornflower blue) although it fit a little tighter she thought he still looked good enough to eat. She was still in the red and black outfit from the mission with Draeger and the spy book. It ended after 6 pm in the boatshed with G and Sam finally getting a confession to everything. As the transport unit took the prisoners to LAPD holding and eventual booking G said, burgers and beer-I'm buying." Getting affirmative nods from Kensi and Sam they looked at Deeks.

"A yea well guys I actually may have plans."

"You may have" said Kensi quizzically.

"Well that depends on Fern. I would like to take her to dinner-official date. We're already dressed for it. I will abide by the curfew and any and all rules your big brothers dictate. Thought I'd take you to the restaurant where it all started so we can start all over. This time just a guy and a girl in a pickup with all the time in the world. This time we do it right, no frozen lake, dancing around it. Just one step at a time."

Thinking a minute she answered with a huge grin and dancing eyes "I don't know it's kind of complicated."

"Not from where I stand it isn't."

"I have a boyfriend."

"That's ok, so does my girlfriend" and there was that million watt smile.

"Well kinda depends on what my big brother's think doesn't it?"

"Yea it does so what say big brothers" and they turned to face G and Sam who were looking at each other. Sam nodded to G.

"OK, 3 rules 1-do not hurt her, 2-curfew is when she says it is and 3-we trust you both to know the rest but remember you can cease to exist and never be found more importantly SHE can still hurt you" and with that they all smiled. Deeks extended his hand and Kensi took it as they started out the door she bumped him with her hip and they both were giggling like high schoolers. Before the got out of ear shot G looked at Sam and offered "Our kids have grown up Sam, we did good." And the 2 of them started laughing as they headed for beer and burgers.

Then they heard "Deeks is back."

"And Kensi's got him."

 **That's it fade to black and cue credits so let me know, you like the story and the ending? See ya next time if I ever get another idea.**


End file.
